GST: Mobile phones to get expensive; Talk time will decrease

The government has imposed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council at 12 percent for mobile phones thus​ tak​ing away the benefit under duty differential that was being offered to local manufacturers​. Under the new GST rate imported phones will become cheaper and most of the locally manufactured phones will get expensive.

Under ​the government’s ​Make in India​ ​​push​​,​ ​​around 80%​ ​o​f ​​59​ million phones sold in India​ in the January-March quarter ​were made locally​, up from 65% in 2016 when 265 million phones were phones​​.

​GST is expected to be implemented​ from July 1. According to rates fixed by the GST Council on Thursday night, Telephones for cellular networks or​ ​​​for other wireless networks and parts for their manufacture will attract a rate of 12%.​ Talk time will also be reduced due to the new implementation.

For mobile phones imported and sold in India, duty was from 17% going up to 27%, which now comes down to 12%, giving imports a leg up. Prices of mobile phones at e-commerce players like Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal, Shopclues and others, where sellers of mobile phones have been supplying from low VAT states will now be higher than earlier.