India will raise its import tax on electronics to prioritize goods manufactured in the country. The cell phone tax increase from 10% to 15% could hurt Apple’s struggling market share in the region, notes Seeking Alpha.
Samsung assembles most of the cell phones it sells in the country within India. Apple only assembles the iPhone SE in India and imports the rest. The tech giant and government officials have held talks about the iPhone maker expanding its manufacturing presence in the country, but Apple wants incentives and tax breaks — two things the Indian government has resisted so far.
Getting a foothold in India has been a challenge for Apple. For example, the iPhone’s market share is around 2% in the country.
