New Delhi: The government has imposed a 10 percent import duty on static converter for cellular phones and other gadgets like USB cables. So far this was exempt from basic customs duty, reports media.
The ’static converter for cellular mobile phones’ are phone charging cables, which can also be used for accessing and transfer of handset data to a computer, laptop, TV or tablet. With this move, the static converters imported into India will attract same 10 percent basic customs duty as imposed on imported mobile chargers.
In a notification, the Revenue Department said that a notification of customs department is being amended to state that exempt goods would include “static converters for automatic data processing machines and units thereof, and telecommunication apparatus, other than static converters for cellular mobile phones”.
According to channel leaders, this was existing for a long time.However, in the recent days, there were some changes made providing special duty concessions if the products were made in India. Now, there is no basic duty if the product is manufactured in India. However, if the product is imported completely, it attracts 10% duty.
Some while some call it a bid to boost domestic mobile and accessories manufacturing industry, some term it will increase the costs of mobile phone accessories. Until now, ’static converter for cellular mobile phones’ such as a USB cable was exempt from basic customs duty.
Static converters are phone charging cables, which can also be used for accessing and transfer of handset data to a computer, laptop, TV or tablet. With this move, the static converters imported into India will attract same 10 per cent basic customs duty as imposed on imported mobile chargers.
The decision comes even as the post-GST regime has made smartphones four to five percent costlier as they’ve been put under the new 12 percent tax slab.