NEW DELHI : Mobile phones could soon become costlier as the Good and Services Tax (GST) on cellular handsets will be increased to 18% from the current 12%.
Earlier in the month, the GST Council had decided to increase tax rate by 6 percentage points on mobiles and certain components from April 1 due to the inverted duty structure.
Xiaomi had earlier indicated that it could hike prices. "As a result of this GST increase, all smartphone makers will be forced to increase prices.
This can weaken the demand and mobile industry's Make in India program. This could also have long lasting impact on internet penetration and digital India program as majority of Indians access internet on smartphones," Manu Jain, Managing Director, Xiaomi India, had
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