5 per cent import duty on open cell used in TV from Oct 1

The government had last year exempted customs duty on open cell, a key component of TV, for a year till September 30 as the domestic industry had sought time to build capacity. With the exemption coming to an end, 5 pc duty would be reimposed on open cell from October 1, a finance ministry source said.

The source further said this move is elemental to the Phased Manufacturing Plan (PMP) of television and its components to bring the industry out of mere television assembling while being totally dependent on imports for all its parts. “Manufacturing in India cannot survive on support of import forever,” the source said.

Till last year televisions worth Rs 7,000 crore were being imported. The government has supported the television industry through custom duty structure. A customs duty of 20 percent has been imposed on imports of television since December 2017.

 Television import has also been put on the restricted category with effect from July end this year. TV manufacturers are enjoying full reasonable protection from imports, the source added.

 The TV industry has been under pressure as price of fully built panel has gone up by 50 pc and customs duty of 5 pc on open cell would lead to a rise in TV price by about 4 pc.