Apple Seeking Tax Breaks in India for iPhone Suppliers

Apple has requested tax breaks for its suppliers from the Indian government to set up a manufacturing hub for the iPhone and its components.

According to a new report from Reuters, Apple has been actively pursuing its own incentives in India to offset the costs of moving more of its production to the country. Recently, the Cupertino company has been putting pressure on the Indian government to extend the same tax concessions to its suppliers.

Apple began assembling iPhones in India earlier this year, making it easier for the company to break into the Indian market. However, both Apple and the Indian government have been negotiating Apple’s list of “prerequisites” so the company can move the entire production line of the smartphone to India.

Apple is seeking duty exemptions on the import of raw materials and capital equipment for 15 years in the country, but government officials have stated that this request would require the creation of new policies that would apply to other device manufacturers as well.

“They want the same treatment to be given to the component manufacturers; the tax concessions, they want everything. But then some kind of policy will have to be evolved,” an unnamed government official said.

“The demand could further delay Apple’s plans to penetrate the Indian market, the world’s third largest for smartphones behind the United States and China, but where it has only a 2 percent share,” reads the report.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has held a series of meetings with the Indian prime minister, the most recent of which was just last month, as the company seeks permission to open retail stores in the country.

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