Xiaomi, Haier, others get vocal on Customs duty hike in Budget 2018

On Friday, LG India Managing Director (MD) Kim Ki-Wan said the duty hikes were ill-timed and would hit the Rs 700 billion domestic electronics market

More companies such as Xiaomi, Haier, Godrej, and Blue Star have joined LG Electronics India in indicating that the recent Customs duty hike in the Budget, the second such in two months, will impact demand. 

The government raised basic Customs duty by 5-10 per cent in December and February, respectively, on import of electronic goods and components. An additional surcharge or cess to the extent of 10 per cent was slapped only in the second round, that is, in February, when the general Budget was announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The idea was to boost the government’s ‘Make in India’