Beijing time, February 10, China touchscreen news The Indian government postponed the imposition of import duties on smartphone touch panel. The Indian government has announced that it has postponed the legal process of imposing a tax on imports of touch panels, which should have come into effect this month, this will affect smartphone manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung. According to Reuters, assuming India's Ministry of Finance agrees with the proposal of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the tax will begin in April 2020. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Made in India" campaign, the government has been steadily increasing import taxes on telephone parts to stimulate businesses to build up local manufacturing industries.
Apparently, Apple and other members of the Indian Mobile Phone Association brought their influence last month, arguing that touch panel taxes and other government measures could damage their businesses. Samsung wrote to the government, claiming that it could not produce two high-end mobile phones containing the tariff. Samsung is expected to open an Indian touch panel assembly plant by the end of March 2020. I wonder if this will explain the delay.
Despite the industry's success in complaining about Made in India, India is now second only to China in terms of telephone production, including Samsung, OPPO and Apple assembly partners Foxconn and Weichuang. The regulator ICEA itself acknowledges that Make in India has created more than 600,000 jobs.
Apple phones account for only 1% of India's smartphone market, which is often attributed to a combinition of low-cost competition and high iPhone prices, exacerbated by import costs. Over the years, the company has been using outdated hardware sold in this market as a solution - Weichuang is currently assembling the iPhone SE and 6S in the country.
Foxconn is considering shifting some of its iPhone production to India, which will bring double benefits: lower import costs, less reliance on traditional supply chains, and compliance with local procurement requirements.
