New Delhi’Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced a cut in customs duty on the import of certain inputs for mobile phone manufacturing.

In her Budget 2023-24 speech, she said India’s mobile phone output rose from 5.8 crore units in 2014-15 to 31 crore units last fiscal.

Her announcement comes at a time when India has aggressively positioned itself as an electronics powerhouse to the world, as global players look for a China plus 1 strategy.

In fact, India has emerged as the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer backed by the Centre’s enabling policies, various incentive schemes, and a resolve to provide the industry with a competitive environment.

Sitharaman also announced that customs duty on parts of open cells of TV panels would be cut to 2.5 per cent, while customs duty on kitchen electric chimney has been increased to 15 per cent from 7.5 per cent.

However, she said the government would continue with a concessional basic customs duty of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap.

The finance minister also announced a hike in basic customs duty on articles made from gold bars while increasing the tax on cigarettes by 16 per cent.

The government would also reduce customs duty on shrimp feed to promote exports, she said.

Further, she said the government proposes to increase the limit for presumptive taxation for MSMEs and certain professionals to Rs 3 crore and Rs 75 lakh, respectively.

Press Trust of India