OEMs are raising prices of smartphones in India following a tax increase

India is one of the most competitive markets for smartphone brands. Before the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on commercial activities, India was the only positively growing smartphone market in the world. The sheer number of smartphone users (about 400 million) and the huge potential to onboard a larger number of new users has drawn several brands to target India specifically. As a result, smartphones are sold at very lucrative prices with thin margins, especially by brands like Xiaomi and Realme. But as all good things come to an end, this glorious period of tempting smartphone deals in India might become less attractive following the 50% hike Goods and Service Tax (GST) hike that is effective starting today i.e. April 1st, 2020.

Last month, India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, announced an increase in the GST rate on mobile phones and specified parts. As compared to the previous rate of 12% GST, the new applicable rate is 18% – i.e. a sharp 50% increase. The announcement comes in spite of the depreciating value of the Indian Rupee against the US Dollar, extensive competition, and already slim margins.

Mi fans, #GST on mobile phones has increased by 50% from 12% to 18%.

After much deliberation & in keeping with #Xiaomi policy of maintaining <5% margin on our hardware products,we will be increasing prices of our products.

New prices will be effective immediately. Thank you! pic.twitter.com/mdTqKdXm3r

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) March 31, 2020

As a result of this hike, smartphone makers are left with no alternative but to increase the prices of smartphones and accessories. Xiaomi, India’s largest smartphone seller, has already confirmed its intention to increase the prices of the phone citing the increase in GST rate and the poor performance of the Rupee. In an open letter to its patrons, Xiaomi announced that it will be increasing its prices.

Xiaomi’s spin-off brand POCO has also announced an increase of ₹1,000 (~$15) in all variants of the POCO X2 (review). In the meantime, while OPPO and Vivo didn’t announce a price hike formally, offline retailer Mahesh Telecom shared details about the increased prices of some of the top-selling models.

Likewise, Realme has also increased the prices of its phones.

While we are still awaiting details on the exact price hikes by companies, we have collated a list of smartphones with increased prices.

Old vs New Smartphone Prices in India after GST hike

Brand	Model	Old Price with 12% GST	New Price with 18% GST
Xiaomi	Redmi K20 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹24,999	₹26,999
	Redmi K20 Pro 8GB/256GB	₹27,999	₹29,999
	Redmi K20 6/64GB	₹19,999	₹21,999
	Redmi K20 6GB/128GB	₹22,999	₹24,299
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹10,999
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹10,999	₹12,999
	Redmi Note 7 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹11,999	₹13,999
	Redmi Note 7S 3GB/32GB	₹8,999	₹9,999
	Redmi Note 7S 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹11,999
	Redmi 8 4GB/64GB	₹8,199	₹8,999
	Redmi 8A 2GB/32GB	₹6,499	₹6,999
	Redmi 8A 3GB/32GB	₹6,999	₹7,499
POCO	POCO X2 6GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	POCO X2 6GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	POCO X2 8GB/256GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
Realme	Realme X50 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹37,999	₹39,999
	Realme X50 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹39,999	₹41,999
	Realme X50 Pro 12GB/256GB	₹44,999	₹47,999
	Realme X2 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹27,999	₹29,999
	Realme X2 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹29,999	₹31,999
	Realme X2 Pro 12GB/256GB	₹33,999	₹35,999
	Realme X2 4GB/64GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme X2 6GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme X2 8GB/128GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
	Realme X 4GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme X 8GB/128GB	₹19,999	₹20,999
	Realme 6 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹16,999	₹17,999
	Realme 6 Pro 6GB/128GB	₹17,999	₹18,999
	Realme 6 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme XT 4GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme XT 8GB/128GB	₹18,999	₹19,999
	Realme 6 4GB/64GB	₹12,999	₹13,999
	Realme 6 6GB/128GB	₹14,999	₹15,999
	Realme 6 8GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme 5 Pro 4GB/64GB	₹12,999	₹13,999
	Realme 5 Pro 6GB/64GB	₹13,999	₹14,999
	Realme 5 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,999
	Realme 5 3GB/32GB	₹8,999	₹9,499
	Realme 5 4GB/64GB	₹9,999	₹10,499
	Realme 5 4GB/128GB	₹10,999	₹11,499
	Realme 5i 4GB/64GB	₹8,999	₹9,999
	Realme 5i 4GB/128GB	₹9,999	₹10,999
	Realme C3 3GB/32GB	₹6,999	₹7,499
	Realme C3 4GB/64GB	₹7,999	₹8,499
Samsung	Galaxy S20	₹66,999	₹70,500
	Galaxy S20+	₹73,999	₹79,900
	Galaxy S20 Ultra	₹92,999	₹97,900
	Galaxy Z Flip	₹1,09,999	₹1,15,890
	Galaxy Note 10	₹69,999	₹73,600
	Galaxy Note 10+ 12GB/256GB	₹79,999	₹84,200
	Galaxy Note 10+ 12GB/512GB	₹89,999	₹94,700
	Galaxy Note 10 Lite 6GB/128GB	₹38,999	₹41,000
	Galaxy Note 10 Lite 8GB/128GB	₹40,999	₹43,100
	Galaxy S10 Lite 8GB/128GB	₹39,999	₹42,142
	Galaxy S10 Lite 8GB/512GB	₹44,999	₹47,300
	Galaxy A71	₹29,999	₹31,500
	Galaxy A51	₹23,999	₹25,250
	Galaxy M31 6GB/64GB	₹15,999	₹16,856
	Galaxy M31 6GB/128GB	₹16,999	₹17,910
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/64GB	₹13,999	₹14,749
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/128GB	₹14,999	₹15,803
	Galaxy M30s 4GB/128GB	₹15,999	₹16,856
	Galaxy M21 4GB/64GB	₹13,499	₹14,222
	Galaxy M21 4GB/64GB	₹15,499	₹16,329
OPPO	Reno3 Pro (Global)	₹29,990	₹31,990
	Reno2	₹36,990	₹38,990
	Reno2 Z	₹25,990	₹27,490
	Reno2 F	₹21,990	₹23,490
Vivo	Vivo U20	₹17,990	₹19,990
	Vivo S1 4GB/128GB	₹15,990	₹17,990
	Vivo S1 6GB/64GB	₹17,990	₹19,990
	Vivo S1 Pro 8GB/128GB	₹18,990	₹20,990
	Vivo V17 8GB/128GB	₹22,990	₹24,990
iQOO	iQOO 3 4G 8GB/128GB	₹36,990	₹38,990
	iQOO 3 4G 8GB/256GB	₹39,990	₹41,990
	iQOO 3 5G 12GB/256GB	₹44,990	₹46,990

The list above is incomplete but we’ll be adding more recently launched devices as we learn about the increase in prices of other smartphones in India. Needless to say, the tax increase will affect the entire industry. Those who can absorb the rise in cost, will; while those with thin margins will have no option but to pass on the burden to the end consumer. However, keep in mind that the country is on COVID-19-related lockdown, so sales on both offline and online platforms are on hold.

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