Government Increases Import Duty on Motherboards to Boost Domestic Telecom Manufacturing

The Indian government has proposed increasing the import duty on motherboards by 5% in the Union Budget 2024-25 to encourage domestic telecom gear manufacturing. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced incentives for local production and exemptions for critical minerals used in high-tech and strategic sectors.

The Indian government has proposed an increase in import duty on motherboards, officially known as printed circuit boards, by 5% as detailed in the Union Budget 2024-25. This move aims to enhance domestic manufacturing in the telecom sector.

'To incentivise domestic manufacturing, I propose to increase the BCD (Basic Customs Duty) from 10 to 15 per cent on PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) of specified telecom equipment,' Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated. The hike in basic customs duty will be accompanied by exemptions for 25 critical minerals, essential in the production of communication equipment and other high-tech sectors.

'This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors,' Sitharaman added.