TV, set-top boxes to become costlier

Watching your favourite programmes on TV will pinch your pocket in the New Year as prices of TV sets and set-top boxes are set to rise by 5 per cent from January. 

Price hikes have become imminent after the government recently raised the import duty on finished TV sets, LED panels and set-top boxes.

The basic customs duty on finished TV sets and set-top boxes has been raised by 10 percentage points to 20 per cent. For LED panels the hike is 7.5 percenteage points, up from from nil. Top players in the sector like Samsung, Sony, LG and Dish TV said they were yet to decide on the price hikes they needed to make at the retail level.

Sources said the increase in import duty on LED panels would hurt the most as this component contributed almost 65 per cent to the cost of making a flat panel TV. 

All panels used to manufacture TV sets in India are imported. The investment of over Rs 10,000 crore to set up a manufacturing plant for flat panels is a major hindrance for localisation of production.