Your vacation-bought HDTV could soon lose manufacturer support in India

People returning home from vacations with multiple LCD televisions could be a common scene at the Indian airports. But electronic makers are taking steps to deter such imports, said a leading business daily. 

MNCs like Sony, LG and Samsung have decided to limit their after-sales service for imported models that are estimated to account for nearly 20% of all TV sets in India. This could mean you could be forced to pay extra for the after-sales service for such imported TVs. “Such imported sets are disturbing the market equilibrium, sales plans and the total legitimate channel,” said Sunil Nayyar, sales head, Sony India.

No warranty for that fancy new HDTV from Bangkok!

Sony and Samsung have both said that they will refrain from providing any warranty, repair or installation service for such imported sets and have also decided to exclude India from the limit of any international warranty coverage. “The company will try to implement a model where the warranty support will be applicable only to markets where the products are sold.” said Ravinder Zutshi, Deputy MD, Samsung India.

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A report by the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) has stated that almost 3,000 flat panel television sets land as tourist baggage from Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok and Malaysia at the Indian airports on a daily basis. In comparison to India, the prices of HDTVs televisions are very cheap in the likes of Dubai and Thailand. While an LCD TV would cost around Rs 60,000 in India, one can get the same television set for Rs. 37,000 in Dubai, said the report. This difference in price is due to the composite tax that is levied at a rate varying between 30 and 35 per cent.