Mobile phone makers call for 5% GST slab for handsets

The mobile phone industry has called for a 5% GST slab for handsets as the government works on overhauling the rates in the coming months. The mobile phones currently are placed under the 18% slab, which has been termed as “regressive” by the industry because phones these days are a necessity and not an aspirational item.

The mobile phones were initially placed under the 12% GST slab rate in 2017 as a transitional compromise as before the implementation of GST mechanism, the combined excise and VAT incidence averaged around 6%, which could have made the 5% slab ideal for the handsets.