NEW DELHI -- Apple's demand for tax concessions for local iPhone production has "not been accepted" by India's Finance Ministry and the matter may now be decided by a council responsible for the implementation of the country's new indirect taxation regime.
A goods and services tax subsuming over a dozen central and state government levies is expected to be implemented from July 1. Under the GST regime, all imports will be liable to the new unified sales tax and "any tax exemptions ... can be granted based on the recommendations of the GST council only," P.P. Chaudhary, junior minister for electronics and information technology, informed Parliament.
