Smartphone makers such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are unlikely to hike prices despite a five percentage point increase in the customs duty on handsets, reports Business Standard.
The smartphone makers will instead absorb the duty hike so that their price points are protected in the highly competitive market, sources told the paper.
Earlier this week, Apple increased the prices of all its iPhones (barring the SE) by 3.5 percent to account for the hike in customs duty.
Sony and Google, which sell phones in the Rs 45,000 and above range may take similar action, as they continue to import the majority of their handsets in India.
Samsung locally assembles all its devices sold in India and need not raise its prices in line with the increase in customs duty. It is yet unclear whether Samsung and Lenovo will hike their prices.
Most smartphone makers source their requirements locally. Industry sources said around five percent of volume sales of brands such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and Lenovo were of imported handsets, as these firms gradually move towards producing all their phones locally.
Apple is keen on manufacturing in India, but currently only assembles the iPhone SE in the country while all its other devices continue to be imported.
Source: moneycontrol.com