April 1 marks the start of the new fiscal year in India when new revisions and rates are applied. One of the most significant changes was the increase of the GST on smartphones from 12% to 18%. With this entry into action, smartphone manufacturers have announced new prices for their products. In India, all products sold are subject to GST at the time of sale. The price is different for each product category. For smartphones, the rate was 12%, but starting April 1, all phones sold will be subject to a tax rate of 18%. This is accompanied by a heavily depreciated dollar-to-rupee conversion rate, tight competition, and thin margins, resulting in a somewhat unfavorable mix. Naturally, manufacturers have been forced to raise smartphone prices to remain profitable. Price competitors Xiaomi and Realme were among the first to announce increases, but were soon followed by big boys like Samsung. Oppo and Vivo have yet to officially mention it, but retailers like Mahesh Telecom have been able to share details about their new pricing. Check brand websites for exact price changes and real-time status updates. The price of Xiaomi's Redmi K20 and K20 Pro series has been increased by almost Rs 2,000 overall, as for the Redmi Note 7 Pro series. The costs of the more affordable devices like the Redmi 8A only increased by around Rs 500. The price of the Poco X2 has been increased by Rs 1,000 for all variants. Realme seems to follow the tranche increases for its devices, with budget phones up to Rs 10,000 like the Realme 5 seeing an increase of Rs 500, those priced up to Rs 20,000 increased by Rs 1,000, and flagship products like the X2 Pro and the X50 Pro will be more expensive at almost 2,000 rupees. Samsung's flagship products, extending to the Galaxy Note 10 series, will see an increase of up to Rs 5,000, while entry-level and mid-tier devices will see much more modest increases of around Rs 1,000. . Oppo will raise the prices of its high-end mid-range such as the Reno 3 Pro and Reno 2 by around Rs 2.000 and the V17. The iQoo 3 series price will also increase by Rs 2.000. Other brands could also join the club and announce price hikes on their smartphones, especially those that operate on slimmer margins. To what extent prices will have an impact on sales remains to be seen, as the Finance Ministry mentioned that smartphones were among the categories that had not slowed down. India is also currently in a preventive lockdown state, where smartphone sales are also on hold.