India’s finance ministry recently released the annual budget for 2023/24. One of the announcements that they made was scrapping the 2.5% customs duty on select camera mobile phone parts. It was welcome news for a lot of the smartphone brands, including Apple, who are keen to shift their assembly lines from countries like China to India.
Sweet Apple Deals?
Apple has a huge market in the Indian subcontinent and with it comes a lot of money. Last December, the export numbers from Apple India hit roughly Rs. 8,190 crores. And with the tax reform affecting the assembly of such high-end smartphones, this number is only expected to rise.
With the iPhone assembly focus shifting towards India and benefits like these custom duty reforms, it is being speculated that the stark difference in prices of Apple products in India will become less pronounced. Taking the latest model into consideration, the price of the iPhone 14 Pro is $999 in the US which roughly translates to Rs. 82,000 upon literally USD to INR conversion. However, the market price in India for the same model is Rs 1,29,900, making it almost Rs. 47,000 overpriced.
Make in India
India has, in recent years, made a concentrated effort to shift away from a dependence on the international market to more homegrown Make in India products. While this benefits the owners of big assembly plants and bigger brands like Apple, we’ll be happy if the advantages are shifted to us in the form of small discounts. Bas itna sa khwaab hai!
