Duty up, imported mobiles to be dearer

New Delhi, December 15 

The government today hiked import duty on smartphones, television sets, microwave, LED lamps and some other electronic items in a bid to protect domestic manufacturers.

Imported smartphones will cost more with customs duty on them being increased to 15% from nil now, the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

The move will impact telecom companies that were sourcing cheap smartphones to offer bundled services to customers in a bid to capture market. — PTI