The Goods and Services Tax (GST) levied on mobile handsets in India should be brought down to 5%, while the volume of units manufactured domestically is reduced to 22 crores (220 million), an industry group executive said Thursday.
‘Mobile phones should have been at a 5% GST. We had a benchmark of 12%. Today, it is 18%. This is a major task to drive affordability, the President of India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA) said, adding that smartphone production volume has come down to 22 crores, from 30 crores units previously.
He was speaking at an industry event, organised by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), and the Organised Trade Retailers (ORA).
The Delhi-based industry group represents Chinese brands such as Asus, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, as well as Apple and Corning in India.
Currently, India boasts to have more than 300 manufacturing units and is experiencing significant growth supported by various government programs such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP).
Citing China’s stimulus, he said that the Indian government should look at driving demand and fuelling growth, and added that the country has witnessed an increase in value terms though.
Recently, China has come up with a 15% subsidy on smartphones and other electronics priced below 6,000 yuan (nearly ₹70,000). The strategy to offer financial incentives for device upgradation is aimed at facilitating domestic consumption.
Following the new incentive program, China’s smartphone sales has seen a significant boost in the first quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research.
“Smartphones have become the country’s largest exporting commodity with ₹2 lakh crore worth of domestic production. We are not only exporting to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but also to the United States and Europe.”
Further, he said that while hygiene is needed for trade practices, India’s supply chain has not developed much, and “online sales proportion should come down to 15%.”
India itself is a huge market with 140 crore individuals, and everyone should stand with the homegrown brands to realise the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).
