Smartphones in India get dearer due to GST hike

April 1 is the start of the new financial year in India when new revisions and rates are implemented. One of the more prominent changes was the increase of GST on smartphones from 12% to 18%. With that coming into action, smartphone manufacturers announced new prices for their products.

In India, all products sold are subject to a Goods and Services Tax at the time of sale. The rate is different for each product category. For smartphones, the rate had been at 12%, but starting April 1st, all phones sold will be subjected to an 18% tax rate. This is accompanied by a very depreciated dollar to rupee conversion rate, tight competition, and slim margins, resulting in a somewhat unfavorable mix. Understandably, manufacturers were compelled to raise the prices of smartphones to continue being profitable.

Price competitors Xiaomi and Realme were amongst the first ones to announce increments but were soon followed by biggie such as Samsung. Oppo and Vivo haven’t officially mentioned it yet, but retailers such as Mahesh Telecom were able to share details on their new prices. Visit the brands’ websites for the exact price changes and real-time updates on the situation. 

Xiaomi’s Redmi K20 and K20 Pro series’ price has been increased by almost Rs 2,000 across the board, as for the  Redmi Note 7 Pro series. Costs for the more affordable devices such as the Redmi 8A has been increased by only about Rs 500. The Poco X2’s price has been increased by Rs 1,000 for all variants.

Realme seems to be following slab-wise increments for its devices, with budget phones till Rs 10,000 such as the Realme 5 see a Rs 500 increment, those priced till Rs 20,000 are up by Rs 1,000, and the flagships such as the X2 Pro and the X50 Pro will be more expensive by almost Rs 2,000.

Samsung’s flagships, spanning till the Galaxy Note 10 series, will see an increment of up to Rs 5,000, while the mid and entry-level devices will see much more modest increases of about Rs 1,000.

Oppo will be increasing the prices of its premium mid-rangers such as the Reno 3 Pro and the Reno 2 series by about Rs 2,000. Vivo’s mid-rangers will also see an increment of Rs 2,000 on phones such as the U20, S1, and the V17. The price of the iQoo 3 series will also go up by Rs 2,000.

Other brands could also join the club and announce price hikes on their smartphones, especially those that run on slimmer margins. It remains to be seen how much of an impact the prices will make on sales, as the Finance Ministry mentioned that smartphones were one of the categories that hadn’t slowed down. India is also currently in a state of precautionary lockdown, where sales of smartphones are also suspended.

Via XDA Developers

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