Mobile phone industry seeks 13% GST cut amid weak demand, high memory chip prices

Mobile phone industry body ICEA has written to the government seeking a reduction in GST on mobile phones to 5 per cent from the current 18 per cent amid a decline in domestic demand, especially due to rising memory chip prices.

India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) in a letter to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dated September 2 said India is now the world’s second-largest mobile-phone manufacturer by volume, and mobile phones became the country’s largest export product in FY 2025-26.