Budget 2025: High-end TVs, smartphones to get cheaper in India
01 Feb 2025

In her Union Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced steep cuts in import duties for key mobile phone components and critical materials such as lithium-ion battery scrap.

The move is intended to promote local manufacturing, reduce product prices, and make India a global electronics manufacturing hub.

The initiatives also aim to boost the electric vehicle (EV) sector and semiconductor manufacturing.

Import duty reductions to boost India's electronics sector
Duty cuts

The Union Budget features important cuts in import duties on a few critical components to boost India's electronics manufacturing.

Notably, the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on mobile phones, chargers, and printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) has been slashed from 20% to 15%.

This will make electronic devices such as mobile phones and smart LED TVs more affordable for Indian consumers.

Full exemption on customs duties for mobile components
Exemption details

Sitharaman has also proposed a full exemption of customs duties on many components used in the assembly of mobile phones.

These include parts such as PCBAs, USB cables, camera modules, and fingerprint readers.

Previously taxed at 2.5%, these components will now be duty-free, lowering production costs for domestic manufacturers and making smartphones more affordable for Indian consumers.

Customs duties exemption extends to TV panels and EV sector
Extended exemptions

The Finance Minister also announced full exemption of customs duties on open cells used in TV panels (LED and LCD televisions).

This is expected to reduce the cost of production of television sets, benefiting both manufacturers and consumers.

Further, the government has prioritized the development of India's EV manufacturing sector by exempting duties on cobalt powder, lithium-ion battery scrap, and 12 other critical minerals.

Sitharaman announces additions to exempted capital goods list
Capital goods

Sitharaman announced the inclusion of 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing and 28 additional capital goods for mobile phone battery manufacturing in the list of exempted capital goods.

This move will bolster India's domestic battery manufacturing capabilities, taking it a step closer to its ambitions of becoming a hub for both mobile phone and EV production.

Budget 2025 addresses inverted tariff structure
Tariff adjustments

While some components witnessed reduced duties, the government proposed an increase in the customs duty on interactive flat panel displays from 10% to 20%.

This move is part of a larger effort to tackle India's inverted tariff structure, where duties on raw materials/intermediate goods were often higher than on finished products.

The Union Budget 2025 also announced a National Manufacturing Mission to support domestic production across several key sectors.