The iPhone SE is Apple Inc.’s first model that will roll out from the Bangalore plant of Taiwanese contract electronics maker Wistron Corp. in June, with more flagship devices to follow if the Indian government agrees to offer more favorable tax and local sourcing conditions, the Nikkei Asian Review reported on Thursday, quoting unnamed sources.
The Cupertino, California-based tech giant has set its eyes on acquiring a larger share of the booming smartphone market in India after registering a slump in sales in the mature markets such as the United States and China. For a start, the tech giant will use existing supply chains and bring parts to India, which would enable 16% lower import tariffs than for shipping assembled handsets from abroad, according to the article.
The next step for Apple would be to make its phones even more affordable for Indian users and maybe start assembling other models in India, so it has been pushing to secure tax breaks and ease the rule that envisages that foreign companies must source 30% of their products locally, the report said. The Indian government has so far rejected the company's requests, but promised to review them after a national goods and services tax (GST) enters into force, which is likely to be in July, said a person familiar with the matter.
