The custom duty on the display of imported smartphones has come into play from October 1. However, this move by the Indian Government actually does not come as a surprise. This is because the government is already doing a lot along the Make In India movement lines. This move comes as another such initiative for the movement.
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Moreover, this new 10 per cent of custom duty on displays as per the Make In India initiative will definitely make smartphones costlier. This is simply because of the fact that most smartphone displays and touch panels are imported. Furthermore, with this custom duty applied on such important components, prices will obviously go up. Also, this Make In India move will effect the top brands in the country in a big way. From brands like Apple, Realme, Xiaomi and Huawei to Vivo and Samsung, a lot of brands will be affected by this. We will definitely see a price hike in the maximum retail price or MRP smartphones by these brands.
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ICEA National Chairman, Pankaj Mohindroo stated that, “There will be an impact on mobile phone prices between 1.5 and 3%.”
This move by the Indian government will indirectly ensure that Indian companies manufacture smartphone components themselves and not import them. This is a great way to keep the Make In India movement strong.
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Furthermore, Mohindroo states that, “In a rare miss, the industry could not ramp up display assembly production adequately because of COVID-19 and NGT embargo. We continue to be fully committed to domestic manufacturing of sub-assemblies and components. However, now, the focus is to take a lion’s share of global markets and not just import substitution.”
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Besides, Nirmala Sitharaman, the finance minister had said that, “Under Make in India initiative, well laid out customs duty rates were pre-announced for items like mobile phones, electric vehicles and their components. This has ensured gradual increase in domestic value addition capacity in India. Customs duty rates are being revised on electric vehicles, and parts of mobiles as part of such carefully conceived Phased Manufacturing Plans.”
This definitely comes as a sad piece of news for people who are looking forward to get their hands on new smartphones. However, this is indeed a good move to counter the usage of imported components. Hopefully, prices will decrease gradually in the future again.
