Top smartphone vendors Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, Gionee, Intex and Lava have assured the smartphones' pricing will not be impacted once the Goods and Service Tax (GST) rolls out in the country.
The introduction of GST is said to have its impact on smartphone pricing along with various consumer-facing sectors, but smartphone makers, in a statement to The Economic Times, have confirmed that “they have plan to absorb the impact from the new tax system that comes into effect” from July 1.
“There will be no impact on pricing,” Gionee managing director Arvind Vohra told the ET. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi and Oppo, and Indian handset maker Lava also give their assurance on no change in smartphone pricing after GST kicks in. Also, according to people familiar on the matter, Samsung is unlikely to increase pricing of its exiting models under GST.
However, new phones models may increase by 4-5 per cent after the GST rate was fixed at 12 per cent.
In an earlier statement to Business Today, Nokia also said that they are GST-ready. They said: “The Nokia 6 and the Nokia 5 prices already take into account the GST tax rates. The GST rollout will not affect the prices of the Nokia phone that have been announced so far.”
However, retailers are hesitant to stock up new products in first few weeks of July due to initial market fluctuations GST would cause.
As a result, the two Nokia models scheduled to be launched within the first two weeks of July are expected to get delayed.
