Smartphones likely to witness a rise in prices post Union Budget 2018
After Union Budget 2018, we may see an increase in the prices of premium smartphones in India, as customs duty is likely to be imposed on individual mobile phone components such as the printed circuit boards, camera modules and displays, according to reports.
The move comes to encourage the central government's initiative of transforming India into a manufacturing hub instead of an assembly unit for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM).
Recently, the mobile industry saw a rise in smartphone pricing, especially, the ones that were imported into the country. The Department of Revenue under the Finance Ministry raised the customs duty from 10 percent to 15 percent for mobile handsets. This led severa brands to slightly bump the prices including Apple.
Premium smartphone maker Apple has setup up an assembly unit in Bengaluru that churns out locally-produced iPhone SEs. Winstron's facility in Bengaluru has already pushed out the first-generation iPhone SE's to the local market at reduced costs.
However, Apple is now seeking additional benefits, including a 15-year break from customs duty and relaxed labelling norms, to start manufacturing in the country.
Apart from Apple, several mobile handset makers, including Huawei and Xiaomi from China, manufacture products in India. The central government imposed basic customs duty on mobile phones at the rate of 10 per cent on July 1, 2017 and subsequently raised it to 15 per cent on December 14, 2017.
-PTC News
