The display is one of the most important parts of the mobile device and it seems that the cost of the display panel is going to increase as the Indian government has imposed a 10% import duty on the same. After the import duty was applied, it can be expected that the cost of smartphones by Samsung, Apple, Vivo, Xiaomi, Oppo, and RealMe is going to increase. The decision to increase the import duty has been taken due to the Atmanirbhar Bharat Campaign, as an effort to push the manufacturing of such components within the country.
The price hike for smartphones will range between 1.5% and 5%, as confirmed by smartphone manufacturing companies. The move can be really demotivating for smartphone brands as the festive season in India is about to come and companies are really expecting high sales at this time. Since display panels and touch panels are among the most critical components, the increase in price cannot be deflected in any way. The Indian government has been trying to implement this policy since April this year, however, it has been delayed twice to give more time to component manufacturers in setting up their base in the country.
Currently, there are four companies in India that are manufacturing the display panels, with Holitech and TCL among them. Companies are trying different strategies in this situation. While some companies will be increasing the price immediately, some of them have said that they will absorb the extra cost without adding it to smartphones.