Smartphone companies are set to announce price hikes on their smartphones and tablets due to 10% import duty imposed on display and touch panels.
The price hike can range between 1.5% and 5%. Display and touch panels are critical components and mostly account for 15-25% of the total cost of the device.
The move aims to push local manufacturing guided by the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign under a phased manufacturing programme (PMP). The objective of this program is to facilitate the manufacturing of components and discourage imports.
Different companies will handle this situation in different ways. Some said that the prices could go up immediately while some are planning to absorb the new burden as much as possible.
It is worth noting that added import duty wasn’t a sudden move. The government originally wanted to immerse the Import duty last year in April but deferred twice to give component manufacturers more to to setup their units in the country.
At present, 4 companies including Holitech and TCL make display panels in the country. These companies will surely see a rise in orders.
