Smartphones in India to get Costlier by 25% after GST Introduction

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India is termed as one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones, and it has been reported that 2016 was a great year for smartphones here in India. However, it looks like the same can’t be said for 2017. It has been reported that the smartphones sales overall in India will not see a significant growth and the increase will be by a small margin. While the smartphones sales had been exceptional last year, it looks like we now have to deal with expensive smartphones. According to a report by Cybermedia Research(CMR), the smartphones market in India is not expected to see much growth.

Talking about the numbers, a total of 270 million units of mobile phones are expected to be shipped which is not much in comparison to what we had last year. This sales figure will lead to a 5-percent increase in overall sales in comparison to last year. The main reason for the same has bee reported as the introduction of GST. GST or Goods and Services Tax Bill is aiming to create a uniform tax structure in India. The implementation of GST will lead to the removal of additional taxes such as purchase tax, VAT or Sales Tax, etc. It is expected that the implementation of GST can increase India’s GDP by 2%.

GST Effect on Smartphones in India – Prices to go up by 7-8 % in the coming weeks

While it sounds like GST is all golden but it may not be good news for smartphone buyers in India. It is expected that with the introduction of GST, the prices of the mobile phones could go up between 15 and 25-percent. The increase in the price is quite significant. However, the prices will vary depending upon the actual implementation of GST. And this is going to be one of the major reason behind the slow growth rate of smartphones in India in 2017, which makes a lot of sense.

It has been reported that a total of about 262 million mobile phone units were shipped out of which smartphones will account for about 113 million units which come down to about 43-percent. The remaining number i.e. the 149 million units were feature phones. However, this year, on the other hand, 270 million units are expected to be sold out of which 130 million units are expected to be smartphones which account for about 48-percent. Well, these are only estimated numbers, however, if the prices are increased then the sales will eventually go down in a market like India where mostly low-mid ranged smartphone gets priority.

The GST is expected to be implemented around the month of July and hence we can expect the change to be implemented around the same time. Hence if you have any plans of buying a new smartphone for your loved ones or in fact if you yourself are planning to enter the smartphone world then you should do it before the GST is introduced. Also, do make a note that many smartphone manufacturers will also give away a lot of discounts and other offers as well ahead of this change, so make sure you take advantage of those as well. With that said, let us know what do you think about this in the comment section below.

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