If you are looking to purchase an iPhone or the upcoming Galaxy S9, you may have to shell out more cash than before. The Indian budget for the year 2018 was announced today by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The annual budget has included a tax hike for smartphones that will be imported. Earlier, the tax percentage stood at 15% which has now been raised to 20%
This move is to discourage large manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to import their parts from China and move to manufacture their smartphones locally. Speaking of local manufacturing, the devices that are Made in India will enjoy very little or no customs duties depending if they are sourcing the components locally or importing them.
That being said, these changes in prices aren’t expected to become laws until next month, so if you are looking to buy an Apple iPhone X or a Galaxy S8, now is the best time. Not all is bad though as most mid-budget smartphones will not be affected by this rise in tax. The major smartphones in the budget segment like the ones from Xiaomi, Motorola and even the J-series smartphones by Samsung are expected to retain their prices. This is because the devices are manufactured in India.
This move may encourage manufacturers like Apple and Samsung to set up manufacturing plants here in India. India is a rapidly growing smartphone market and big contenders wouldn’t want to be left out of this race. We could see more companies setting up in the country thereby reducing the cost of popular flagship smartphones. But until then, the prices are set to rise and if you have been holding the money waiting for prices to drop, they aren’t going to get any cheaper than what they are right now.