Last week, we heard that Indian government had announced the tax increment on the import of smartphones. The motive was to attract the large companies to set up their manufacturing units in the country. Earlier, we also heard that Apple was thinking to set up its manufacturing unit in India. This news has come true as Apple has now confirmed to open an official online store here in the country.
Earlier, Apple was selling its smartphones through online retailers like Amazon and Flipkart. But now, the company has decided to open its own online stores in the country to manage all the sales itself. The government is giving tax exemptions to the home made products already. In this context, Apple is also starting to manufacture iPhones in India from May. This means the local made iPhone units will cost less and, thus, will sell at fewer prices also.
There is also a Smartphone Industry Standard to set up the manufacturing units in the country where online sale crosses 30 percent. Apple fulfills this condition also as it is already selling about 50-50 percent units through online retailers. It is beneficial for the Indian people as the official stores will offer fewer prices than other online stores.
Official sources have confirmed that the opening of online stores at Diwali. The assembly manufacturing, yet, will start in May. Tech experts are also arguing that iPhone SE will be the first phone that Apple will produce in India. But, the recent rumors say that the company will prepare iPhone 6 and 6s instead of iPhone SE. The company has also planned to open 4-5 offline stores in the coming years.