Today the Indian Finance minister presented the budget for the year 2018. The budget had one key proposal to increase import duties for mobile phones to 20%, along with a 15% duty on key components.
This will force manufacturers who sell imported and not made in India phones in the Indian market to either bear the loss in revenues or increase the price of their phones. Apple and Samsung are expected to take quite a hit due to this proposal.
But HMD has confirmed in a press note sent to media that impact on pricing on Nokia Phones will be minimum. The reason behind this is the “made in India” status of almost entire Nokia Phones and smartphones portfolio for the Indian market.
“HMD Global continues its strong emphasis on PM Modi’s Make in India campaign. While the import duties for mobile phones increased to 20%, along with a 15% duty on key components, this will have a minimum impact on our business, as all of our current portfolio of Nokia phones are manufactured in India.” said Ajey Mehta, Vice President India, HMD Global
In fact, HMD has slashed pricing for Nokia 8 and Nokia 5 3GB RAM today in the run-up to MWC 2018 event, where it is expected to launch its new range of Nokia smartphones.
