Import duty of 5% imposed on key component used in TV manufacturing from October 1

The government had last year exempted customs duty on open cells for a year till September 30 as the domestic industry had sought time to build capacity.

Open cell panel is an important part of TV manufacturing and covers more than half cost of the unit.

Customs duty of 5% has been imposed on import of a key component used in manufacturing of LED/LCD TVs from October 1, a government notification said on Wednesday.

The government had last year exempted customs duty on open cells for a year till September 30 as the domestic industry had sought time to build capacity.

The finance ministry, through a notification on Wednesday, prescribed 5% customs duty on open cells for LED/LCD TV panels.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said this levy seems to aim at fostering domestic manufacturing of open cells for televisions in India.

“While this could entail increased costs for some TV manufacturers, a duty leverage could incline TV manufactures for procuring / manufacturing domestically produced open cells and thus, advance the Make in India initiative of the Government,” Jain added.

Till last year, televisions worth ₹7,000 crore were being imported. Television import has also been put on the restricted category with effect from July-end this year.

Published - October 01, 2020 10:47 am IST