What Union Budget 2021 Has Changed For Smartphone Users

The Union Budget 2021 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the parliament witnessed many changes. While many items got costly, others aided by the budget provisions 2021 in their favor.

“For greater value addition, we are withdrawing a few exemptions on parts of chargers and sub-parts of mobiles. Further, mobile parts will move from nil rate to a moderate 2.5%,” Nirmala Sitharaman said during her speech in the parliament.

The Union Budget 2021 has revised duties on products sold in India. With that, the cost of smartphones in India is likely to increase.

Let’s look at how the new budget may impact the smartphone brands and users.

Phone accessories may get costly

FM announced the hike on import duty of PCBA and which could directly result in a price hike in fast charging cables, adapters, and other USB accessories. The import duty has increased from 10% to 15% for PCBA and molded plastic for chargers and adapters. The government has hiked the import duty from zero to 2.5% for chargers and adapters with effect from April 1, 2021.  

Hike in import duty

The prices of smartphones are likely to receive an upward kick with a hike in import duty of PCBA, camera modules, and connectors. There may be a slight price hike in the budget smartphones, but premium mobile phones with better cameras, charging features, and connectors may cost more.

New scheme to boost Made in India products

FM outlined that the local manufacturing of smartphones and other electronic equipment is essential and should be encouraged. Hence, with an increase in the import duty of international accessories, the smartphone brands may be motivated to opt for locally manufactured components.

Be ready to shell out more on smartphone repair

As products like connectors, cameras, and ports are likely to become expensive, it’s evident that smartphone users need to pay more to repair to get their phones repair. The duty has increased on the parts required to make Li-on batteries, which means changing your batteries will cost you more.

Mobile phone brands likely to stop providing free accessories

While brands like Apple and Samsung have already stopped providing chargers and earphones for free with the handset, other brands are likely to follow suit. After the increased duty on chargers and other connectors, smartphone brands may stop providing the accessories inside the box.