Apple has increased prices of almost every iPhone model by 3% after the government increased import duty on mobile phones. The import duty on mobile phones has been increased to 20% from 15% in the Union Budget last week. The iPhone SE's price has not been affected by the new budget as it is assembled in India and is exempt from import duties. 

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The hike in prices came into effect yesterday morning and the most expensive iPhone model i.e. the iPhone X 256GB now costs Rs 1,08,930. The starting price of the iPhone 6 and 6s have been increased by Rs 1,100 and Rs 1,350 respectively. 

The prices of all affected iPhones have been updated on every e-commerce website and Apple's Indian website as well. Import duty has been increased on imported smartphones for the second time in three months since the government wants to encourage and increase local manufacturing via the Make in India program.

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The hike has been applied to every smartphone manufacturer, however, Apple has been most affected as it imports over 80% of its inventory from abroad. The price hike will not affect the iPhone SE as it is assembled in Bangalore and will retail for the same price of Rs 26,000 for the 32GB variant and Rs 35,000 for the 128GB version. 

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The sudden hike in import duties for mobile phones may encourage Apple to start manufacturing or assembling smartphone in India in order to have a competitive edge over other players. Apple considers India as one its most important markets globally and a move to manufacture in India will be beneficial for the Cupertino giant. ET reported last week that “Apple's contract manufacturer Wistron was talking to the Karnataka government for 40-50 acres of land to expand operations, part of which would be utilised for making iPhones in the country.