Huawei to increase prices of smartphones available online due to GST rollout

Days after the government announced 10 percent basic customs duty (BCD) on smartphone manufacturers as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into practice, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has said it will marginally hike prices of its smartphones available online. Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of its 6 GB ‘Honor 8 Pro’ flagship smartphone launch in the capital on 8 July, 2017 Allen Wang, Director, Product Center, Huawei India Consumer Business Group, said: “We have both online and offline businesses in India. In online, there will be a little cost increase for sure. But offline, there will be no impact.” Without mentioning when the price hike will be implemented, Wang, however, added that the company plans to optimise other price-guiding factors to minimise the impact of the additional tax burden on its consumers in the country. “So far, for all our products, we have not increased any price. Price is not just dependent on one factor. When the business gets better and the volume becomes bigger, we may also save some cost,” Wang told IANS. Terming GST as a good move, Wang hoped it will have a long-lasting positive effect on the Indian economy. “I think this policy [GST] is good for the country in the long term. And when the economy will become better, our business will become better,” he noted. Going forward, Huawei is set to bring more flagship products in India later this year. “We have already had several small and big launches this year like Honor 6X and Honor 8 Lite. We promise that we have some new devices, new models coming in the second half of the year,” Wang informed. Huawei recently launched 17 new exclusive service centres across the country. “The after-sale service is very important and a big concern for consumers. That’s why we launched 17 exclusive service centres in almost all metro cities. Together, we have more than 200 multi-brand service centres in the country. It’s like a long-term commitment to the market,” the top Huawei executive said, “For us, the Indian market is always important. No brand can ignore it. It can definitely be the top smartphone market in the world soon,” Wang said. According to Wang, ‘Honor 8 Pro’ with the fourth generation 12 MP dual-camera technology is the best deal for its Indian fans. “The device has the best chipset together with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB ROM which is special to the Indian consumers. We hope that at an attractive price of Rs 29,999, the device will give the best experience to them,” Wang said.