The Indian Government may offer a special exemption to Apple to open retail stores in the country.

As part of the development, India’s Department of Industrial Police Promotion (DIPP) will advise the finance ministry to allow an exemption from local sourcing norms, reported Times of India.

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Once approved, the US-based company will set up single-brand retail stores across the country.

“I view India as where China was maybe seven to ten years ago, and from that point of view, I think there’s a really great opportunity there.”

The government had constituted a committee to identify if the company is eligible for an exemption from the obligatory local sourcing, relevant for foreign direct investment (FDI) single brand retail trading in the country, as response to the company’s request for the same.

According to the country’s FDI regulations, the government may relax the mandatory local sourcing regulations for entities undertaking single-brand retailing of products having state-of-the-art and cutting-edge technology and where local sourcing is not possible, reported Indian Express.

According to Times of India, Apple witnessed a 56% growth in iPhone sales in the country during the January-March quarter this year, compared with a 16% global decrease.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook was quoted by the publication as saying: “It is already the third largest smartphone market in the world. But I view India as where China was maybe seven to ten years ago, and from that point of view, I think there’s a really great opportunity there.”

Apple currently sells its products through self-owned retail stores in China, Germany, the US, the UK and France.

Earlier this month, media reports emerged that the Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi is seeking to open stores in India.