Mumbai: If you have any plans to buy a PC or a laptop in the immediate future, here is a piece of bad new for you.
Belying expectations of the Finance Minister that the new excise duty structure would not impact the PC prices, HP, Acer, LG as well as Indian firms such as Zenith have effected up to six per cent price hike on desktops and notebooks.
"We have already increased the price of desktops and portables by 4-6 per cent. Earlier whenever the prices came down, the market expanded. We are concerned that this momentum can get disrupted," Ravi Swaminathan, Vice-President, Personal Systems Group, HP India, said.
HP's notebook
HP's Nx6120 notebook now comes with a post-budget price tag of Rs 60,999 against Rs 57,999 earlier. Similarly, HP's TC 4200 Tablet PC price rose from 81,990 to Rs 86,490.
The Mumbai-based Zenith Computers has increased the price of its desktop computers between 2 and 3 per cent, while portable prices are up five per cent. PC vendor Acer said it has already hiked the price of its notebooks by around six per cent across the segment spanning various configurations. Mr S. Rajendran, General Manager, personal computing group at Acer India, said although the company has left its entry-level PC untouched, the mid-range and the top-end PC prices have been increased by about four to five per cent.
5 pc hike by LG
The LG Electronics India's General Manager for Sales and Marketing, Mr R. Manikandan, said his firm has effected a 5-per cent price hike for notebooks. An announcement of 5-6 per cent hike on its PC price tag is expected in the next couple of weeks.
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Wipro Infotech is still contemplating a "modest" price hike for its PCs and notebooks. However, in the long run due to efficiency in local manufacturing, the price increase should get nullified, said Mr Suresh Kumar M, Business Manager for the Personal Computing Business at Wipro Infotech.
Little choice
Despite the Finance Minister's Budget statement that the 12 per cent excise duty imposed on finished product (computers) would be eligible for full input tax credit and thereby not impact prices, these companies - many of whom are also manufacturing systems in India - have stated that the existing Countervailing Duty (CVD) on components is lower than the excise duty imposed on the finished product, leaving them with no choice but to pass on the increase to consumers.
However, not all players subscribe to this view. PC major HCL recently went on record to say that there would be no adverse impact on PC prices. "The prices will remain unchanged. The Budget announcement would also encourage manufacturing of components in India," Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd, had said.
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