New Delhi, September 14, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) has urged the government to reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on mobile phones from the existing 18 per cent to 5 per cent, saying the move could make smartphones more affordable and accelerate digital adoption.
The industry body has called for the proposal to be placed before the next meeting of the GST Council, arguing that high handset costs continue to keep an estimated 250 million Indians on feature phones and slow smartphone adoption among lower-income and rural households.
ICEA said smartphones have become a key gateway to digital payments, government services, education, healthcare, employment, banking and communication. Making handsets more affordable would therefore help expand participation in the country’s digital economy, it said.
The association highlighted the rapid growth of India’s mobile-phone manufacturing sector. Production increased from Rs 18,900 crore in FY15 to Rs 6.27 lakh crore in FY26, while exports rose from Rs 1,566 crore to Rs 2.60 lakh crore during the same period.
India is now the world’s second-largest mobile-phone manufacturer by volume, while mobile phones emerged as the country’s largest export product in FY26.
However, ICEA said domestic demand has not kept pace with the growth in manufacturing and exports. Handset consumption has weakened, replacement cycles have lengthened and the entry-level smartphone segment remains under pressure.
“This imbalance will constrain the next phase of manufacturing growth unless India restores momentum in its domestic market,” the industry body said.
ICEA argued that a lower GST rate would reduce the upfront cost of smartphones, encourage first-time buyers and expand the formal digital economy.
The association also pointed to rising global costs of mobile DRAM and NAND flash memory, with strong demand from artificial intelligence data centres tightening supplies and pushing up handset costs. Manufacturers, it said, can absorb only part of the increase.
ICEA had advocated a GST reduction on mobile phones during the 2025 GST restructuring exercise as well. It said a larger domestic market would increase sales volumes, improve capacity utilisation, strengthen the formal market and encourage further investment in India’s mobile-phone and component manufacturing ecosystem.
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