Budget 2012: Laptops, mobiles, computers to cost more

NEW DELHI: Personal computing gadgets and accessories, including desktops, laptops, tablets, printers, UPS and mobile phones, will cost more thanks to a hike in excise duty from 10% to 12%.

S Rajendran, chief marketing officer of Acer India, said: “The prices of all our PCs will rise by 2%. A Rs 25,000 PC will now cost an extra Rs 500.” Even imported products, which will now attract an additional 2% countervailing duty, will become more expensive.

Sabyasachi Patra, executive director, MAIT, said the prices of services provided by hardware providers , such as maintenance, would go up. He said the hike in service tax could also increase the prices of personal software products.


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Vinay Deshpande, CEO of Encore Software, maker of products like the Simputer, said the removal of Customs duty on LCD panels would have a marginally positive impact, but that would be largely negated by the higher excise duty and service tax.

For the much-vaunted IT services industry, the absence of any new tax-saving measures means the smaller companies among them will likely suffer a setback.