Amid growing cohort to support Prime Minister Narednra Modi government recently roll-out GST, US-technology giant Apple seems to have slashed the prices of its some of the products in India. Now, the iPhone 7 Plus with 256 GB version is available at Rs 85,400. According to PTI, this is cheaper than earlier price tag of Rs 92,000. Similarly, price of iPhone SE (128GB) has been reduced by Rs 2,200 to Rs 35,000, reported news agency.
The new price is upto 7.2% lower than previous iPhone prices. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro (512GB) price has come down from over Rs one lakh to Rs 97,000 now. According to report, Apple has not attributed the price reduction to GST.
Under GST, smartphones is being taxed at 12% as compared to an earlier range of 8-18% depending on the states. In addition, the government has also introduced a 10% basic customs duty on mobile phones and certain parts, in a bid to promote domestic manufacturing. But home-grown smartphone makers have not announced any major reduction in their smartphone prices.
According to multiple estimates, Apple has a 44% share of the premium market (USD 400 and above), while rival Samsung had 41% share in the January-March 2017 quarter. Other players in the category include the likes of OnePlus, LG, Sony and HTC.
Apple’s revenue grew more than 20% in India in the quarter ended March 2017. Acknowledging that Apple is “underpenetrated” in India, CEO Tim Cook has said the US tech giant is strengthening its local presence in the country and is optimistic about its future given the fast-growing economy and improving 4G network infrastructure in the country.
Earlier, Economic Times reported that GST would not impact the smartphone makers as most of the device makers have told the business daily that they are not either reducing or increasing the price of their products on account of GST roll out in India. “However, retailers are hesitant to stock up new products in first few weeks of July due to initial market fluctuations GST would cause, reported Deccan Chronicle. The news daily said, as a result, the two Nokia models scheduled to be launched within the first two weeks of July are expected to get delayed.
