Buy your phone before new GST rate makes it more expensive

If you are planning to buy a mobile phone, buy it today. From tomorrow, July 1, buying a new phone will burn a bigger hole in your pocket as most mobile phones are going to become costlier due to Goods and Services Tax (GST). GST Council decided to impose a 12 per cent tax on all mobile phones. This GST rate will make your phones costlier by 4-5 per cent.

The higher GST rate can hit the local manufacturers as it will take away the benefits offered to them under the ' Make in India' programme.

However, to make local manufacturing attractive, the government might impose 10 per cent custom duty on imported mobile phones and accessories.

Under the 'Make in India' programme, the government had imposed the duty differential between local manufacturing and imported products two years ago. Under this scheme, the government levies a 12.5 per cent countervailing duty on fully made phones and accessories imported into the country.