The honorable Supreme Court has in a important Case for classification of LAPTOPS for the purpose of levy of Additional Customs Duty has observed that:

It is, thus, evident that in common parlance a desktop or a micro computer is different from a laptop or PDA.  The distinction between a laptop and a desktop computer would further be evident from the history of Wikipedia wherein inter alia it is stated:

'Laptops' upgradeability is severely limited, both for technical and economic reasons. As of 2006, there is no industry-wide standard form factor for laptops. Each major laptop vendor pursues its own proprietary design and construction, with the result that laptops are difficult to upgrade and exhibit high repair costs. With few exceptions, laptop components can rarely be swapped between laptops of competing manufacturers, or even between laptops from the different product-lines of the same manufacturer. Standard feature peripherals (such as audio, video, USB, 1394, WiFi, Bluetooth) are generally integrated on the main PCB (motherboard), and thus upgrades often require using external ports, card slots, or wireless peripherals. Other components, such as RAM modules, hard drives, and batteries are typically user-upgradeable. Many laptops have removable CPUs, although support for other CPUs is restricted to the specific models supported by the laptop motherboard. The socketed CPUs are perhaps for the manufacturer's convenience, rather than the end-user, as few manufacturers try new CPUs in last year's laptop model with an eye toward selling upgrades rather than new laptops. In many other laptops, the CPU is soldered and non-replaceable. [7] Many laptops also include an internal MiniPCI slot, often occupied by a WiFi or Bluetooth card, but as with the CPU, the internal slot is often restricted in the range of cards that can be installed. The widespread adoption of USB mitigates I/O connectivity to a great degree, although the user must carry the USB peripheral as a separate item. NVIDIA and ATI have proposed a standardized interface for laptop GPU upgrades (such as an MXM), but again, choices are limited compared to the desktop PCIe/AGP after-market.' 

(For full text of judgment - please see 2007 -TMI - 2212 - Supreme Court of India)

Classification of laptops as distinct computing devices affects applicability of additional customs duty on imported computer sets. Classification of laptop computers for import duty hinges on their distinction from desktop computers: laptops have limited upgradeability, proprietary form factors and integrated peripherals on the motherboard, reducing component interchangeability; these features bear directly on whether a laptop constitutes a 'CPU with monitor, mouse and keyboard imported together as a set' for additional customs duty purposes.