NEW DELHI: Chinese mobile manufacturers in India evaded custom duty worth Rs 7,966 crore in the past five years, according to government data. Chinese companies -- Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi -- captured the majority of the mobile market in India and also evaded goods and services tax (GST) worth Rs 1,109 crore during the same period.
Minister of State Electronic and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha, said the government managed to recover Rs 604.55 crores out of the total customs duty evasion and Rs 1,025 crore GST.
“These (Chinese) companies manufacture mobile handsets either by themselves or through contract manufacturers. Their cumulative turnover in 2021-22 was estimated to be Rs 1.5 lakh crore in India. The total direct employment generated by them in their manufacturing operations is more than 75,000. They also have a sales and operational workforce of around 80,000 workers,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Major Chinese mobile handset brands, which are operating in India are Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Transsion (operates three brands in India viz. Itel, Tecno and Infinix), Realme and Oneplus, informed the minister. They hold more than 73% market share in the smartphone segment. These companies either have their own manufacturing units or work with contract manufacturers like Bharat FIH Limited and DBG Technology (India) Private Limited, also which have set up Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) operations in India.
“The distribution of mobile handsets is mainly handled by Indian companies, however, some of the Chinese companies like Oppo and Vivo have some Chinese distributors also,” informed the minister in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. Following the Galwan clash in 2020 with Chinese troops, the Indian investigation agency came down heavily on Chinese companies.