ICA requests tax relief in budget

Category: Government | No Comments | Posted on February 12, 2006

To curb the grey market and smuggling of mobile phone accessories and components for the after sales market, the apex body of mobile phone handset companies, Indian Cellular Association, has requested the government to abolish the basic customs duty, which is around 20% at present.

It said the grey market accounts for 90% of the components and accessory market. Giving and example of mobile phone batteries, the ICA said India consumes about two million battery packs every year in the replacement market of which only 100,000 are manufactured indigenously while the rest are imported.

“The state of affairs is such that the Indian industry is not able to meet the demand for servicing in the after sales market also. Similarly, the accessories manufacturing industry for both OEM as well as servicing sector is not able to come up. China has captured both segments of the market,” it said.

To make manufacturing attractive ICA has recommended increase in rates of depreciation on plant and machinery considering the obsolescence rate in the industry and the actual renewal and replenishment rates.

Read the article to know of more tax cuts requested by ICA in its pre-budget memorandum.

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