Mobile device major Samsung India Electronics is hoping that the Government will roll back its decision to hike duty on mobile phones as the “tax hike will not help the cause of consumers”.
The hike will have an implication on the pricing of smart and feature phones offered by device makers, who will mostly pass on the burden to consumers. “We are waiting to see whether the Centre will revoke its decision. We will have to explore ways to soften the blow in case the Centre does not roll back the decision,” Samsung India Vice-President (mobile business) Asim Warsi told The Hindu .
Mr. Warsi said the hike in tax would not only hit the fast-growing upgrade cycle, wherein consumers were upgrading their existing devices to smartphones, but also affect the services offered through 3G networks that had been rolled out on a large scale.
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He was here on Friday in connection with Samsung’s Southwest Asia Forum, 2013 where the consumers appliances major showcased some of its products including large format televisions.
Samsung Southwest Asia president and CEO B.D. Park unveiled a first of its kind quad-core processor incorporated LED TV, the F8000, available in variants up to 65 inches and a 85-inch ‘ultra high definition TV’.
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The company also showcased a new range of refrigerators, wobble washing machine and the Smarty Camera NX 45 mm, the first one-lens 3D system for a consumer camera.
The company focussed on launch of large format screens as this is the fastest growing segment in the domestic market as well as South West Asia. Samsung India did not, however, reveal the price band or the possible dates of availability of the new products.