Xiaomi, Realme, Redmi, Poco phones' prices increased after GST rate hike in India

Mobile phones in India have got costlier as many companies have hiked prices after the increase in goods and services tax (GST) rates. The GST council last month shifted mobile phones to the 18 percent slab from 12 percent.The increased GST on phones has come into effect from 1 April.(Also read: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone XR, iPhone 8 Plus, and other models' prices increased up to Rs 5,900 due to GST hike)[caption id="attachment_7529901" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Redmi K20 Pro.[/caption]Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain has announced on Twitter that the company has increased the price of phones with immediate effect.The increased prices will be applicable across all Xiaomi brands – Mi, Redmi and Poco phones.“After much deliberation & in keeping with #Xiaomi policy of maintaining <5% margin on our hardware products, we will be increasing prices of our products,” Jain tweeted.He also shared a letter from the company to Mi fans. The letter urged users to support the decision.The Poco X2 (Review) (6 GB+128 GB) model, which could be earlier bought at Rs 16,999 on Flipkart, now costs Rs 17,999.Redmi K20's 6 GB + 64 GB version has seen a price rise of Rs 2,000 on Flipkart, while the price of the Redmi K20 Pro (Review) 6 GB + 128 GB variant has also gone up by the same amount.Meanwhile, Realme has also said that it was increasing the prices of its smartphones.The company, in a statement, has said that the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the fluctuating value of the Indian rupee has increased the input cost of smartphones.Realme 6’s 4 GB RAM + 64 GB variant was launched in India for Rs 12,999, but is now priced at  Rs 13,999.Similarly, the price of Realme C3 and Realme 5i (Review) have been hiked by Rs 1,000 each. Realme C3 which earlier cost Rs 6,999, is now available at Rs 7,499. On the other hand, the price of Realme 5i has been increased from Rs 8,999 to Rs 9,999.Besides Xiaomi and Realme, Oppo too has hiked prices of its smartphone to compensate for the increased GST.(Also read: Oppo Reno3 Pro, Reno2, A9 2020 and other phones' prices increased in India due to GST rate hike)