India Temporarily Waives Import Tariffs on Components for Smartphones and Other Electronic Products

India Temporarily Waives Import Tariffs on Components for Smartphones and Other Electronic Products

Tariffs of 5% or 7% will not be imposed until March 2029

Indian authorities have decided to temporarily waive import tariffs on components for some electronic products, including smartphones.

According to Reuters and other sources on the 9th (local time), Indian authorities have decided not to impose the existing import tariffs of 5% and 7% on key components such as wireless charging modules for smartphones, displays for medical devices and automobiles, and lithium-ion battery cells, until March 31, 2029.

This is expected to create a favorable environment for India's domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem and improve the cost competitiveness of companies.

In particular, global companies such as Apple and Xiaomi, which have expanded their production activities in India for several years, are expected to benefit.

Manoj Mishra, a partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, an Indian corporate consulting firm, told Reuters, "This measure will strengthen cost competitiveness and increase the level of manufacturing localization for high-value electronic products, including smartphones."

Mishra added that the import tariff exemption on lithium-ion battery cell components could stimulate investment in the production of batteries for electronic products within India.

The Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has set a goal to increase electronics production to $500 billion (approximately 753.9 trillion KRW) by the fiscal year 2029-2030 (April 2029 - March 2030).

Smartphone production in India has surged 28-fold over the past decade, reaching $57 billion (approximately 86 trillion KRW) in the fiscal year 2024-2025.