Chinese smartphone manufacturers, including Oppo Mobile, Vivo India, and Xiaomi Technology, have been found to evade taxes amounting to a staggering Rs 9,000 crore in India over the past five years, as disclosed in Parliament on Friday.
Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, presented data in the Rajya Sabha, indicating that between 2018-19 and 2022-23, tax evasion of approximately Rs 9,000 crore, encompassing both customs duty and GST, was detected. The government has managed to recover Rs 1,629.87 crore from these companies during the mentioned period.
As per the data shared by the Ministry, Oppo Mobile India Pvt Ltd has evaded Rs 5,086 crore in taxes, including Rs 4,403 crore in customs duty and Rs 683 crore in GST. Vivo, on the other hand, has evaded taxes worth Rs 2,923.25 crore, with Rs 2,875 crore in customs duty and Rs 48.25 crore in GST being involved, as stated in the Minister’s written reply.
In the case of Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, tax evasion of Rs 851.14 crore has been detected, consisting of Rs 682.51 crore in customs duty and Rs 168.63 crore in GST.
The Minister revealed that customs duty evasion of Rs 4,389 crore by Oppo Mobile India Pvt Ltd was detected in 2019-20, of which Rs 450 crore has been recovered. Similarly, in 2020-21, Vivo India Mobile Pvt Ltd was found to evade customs duty worth Rs 2,217 crore, of which Rs 72 crore has been recovered.
Further, in 2019-20, Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd was found to evade customs duty of Rs 653.02 crore, with only Rs 46 lakh recovered. In 2022-23, Vivo Mobile India Pvt Ltd was found to be evading Rs 658 crore. Additionally, Lenovo was found to have evaded Rs 42.36 crore in GST. As per official data, the government has managed to recover Rs 1,214.83 crore from Oppo, Rs 168.25 crore from Vivo, and Rs 92.8 crore from Xiaomi.
In response to a question regarding the number of Chinese handset companies evading taxes and making illegal remittances in India, Minister Chandrasekhar reported that the cumulative turnover of Chinese mobile handset companies in 2021-22 was estimated at Rs 1.5 lakh crore in India. He also highlighted that these companies have generated direct employment for over 75,000 individuals in their manufacturing operations, along with a sales and operational workforce comprising approximately 80,000 workers.
The revelation of tax evasion by major Chinese smartphone manufacturers raises significant concerns and underscores importance of enforcing strict measures to ensure tax compliance and fair business practices within the country.