Indiaâs new customs duties will make your next phone pricier
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If youâre waiting to buy a phone in India this year, you might find prices in the market a tad steeper than before. The country has increased customs duty on importing certain parts to encourage local manufacturing.
Presenting the annual budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharman said today that the country is introducing import duty on few mobile parts in order to boost local manufacturing.
Domestic electronic manufacturing has grown rapidly. We are now exporting items like mobiles and chargers. For greater domestic value addition, we are withdrawing a few exemptions on parts of chargers and sub-parts of mobiles. Further, some parts of mobiles will move from ânilâ rate to a moderate 2.5%.
Synopsis
Xiaomi, Oppo and Realme, which launched their fintech apps Mi Pay and Mi Credit, Oppo Kash and Realme PaySa, respectively, at the start of 2020 have so far seen fewer than 1 million downloads each on Google Play Store against their user base of 20-100 million.
Agencies
Even in terms of transactions, they have barely made a dent. Mi Pay and Realme PaySa recorded 480,000 and 10,000 monthly transactions, respectively, throughout 2020, with minimal month-on-month growth.
New Delhi: Chinese smartphone companies trying to carve a niche in the fintech space have had a tough time, possibly on account of poor consumer sentiment following Sino-Indian border tension.