Govt mulling steps against Chinese mobiles

New Delhi, Jun 21: The government of India is mulling steps to regulate its growing telecom market specially pertaining to the grey market activities and imports.

The authorities have been trying to ban low-cost unbranded Chinese mobiles, which have attracted quiet a lot of buyers in India, for a long time now.

Besides posing serious security threats, the Chinese mobiles have also left the government worried over revenue loss.

According to estimates, the import of Chinese phones valued at Rs 4,200 crore in 2009-10. This means that the government is losing money heavily due to non-payment of Value Added Tax (VAT), Octroi and entry tax.

"A grim scenario looms over the mobile industry with the intrusion of cheap Chinese imports," senior officials in the Department of Telecom (DoT) are quoted as saying in a news agency report.

In the view of these concerns, the government is considering serious policy, regulatory and enforcement interventions, the officials informed.

OneIndia News