- Smartphones, TVs, and electric vehicles are expected to get cheaper in India.
- The government has proposed reducing the number of Basic Custom Duty (BCD) rates on products.
- The Finance Minister also proposed reducing the customs duty on the import of camera lenses and their components from 2.5 percent to 0 percent.
The government has decided to reduce custom duties on smartphones, TVs, electric vehicles, and a number of other goods, according to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who made the announcement while presenting the Union Budget 2023. A PhoneArena report said that the government has proposed reducing the number of Basic Custom Duty (BCD) rates on products other than agriculture and textiles from 21 percent to 13 percent.
The Finance Minister has proposed reducing the customs duty on the import of camera lenses for mobile phones and their components from 2.5 per cent to 0 per cent for use in the production of cellular mobile phone camera modules. In order to further strengthen domestic value addition in the production of mobile phones, the government will extend the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for an additional year.
The Finance Minister said that as a result of various government initiatives, including the Phased Manufacturing programme, mobile phone production in India increased from 5.8 crore units valued at around Rs 18,900 crore in 2014-2015 to Rs 31 crore units valued at over Rs 2,75,000 crore in the previous fiscal year.
To promote value addition in the production of televisions, Sitharaman also proposed lowering the customs duty on components of open cells of TV panels from 5 percent to 2.5 percent. Additionally, she stated that until 31.03.2024, imports of capital goods and equipment necessary for the production of lithium-ion cells for use in electric vehicle batteries would be exempt from paying customs duties.
Regarding 5G services, the minister said that engineering schools would set up 100 labs for creating applications using 5G services in order to realise a new range of opportunities, business models, and job potential.
