The prices of all types of mobile phones and accessories would go up again soon after the introduction of the Social Security Contribution Tax, All Ceylon Communication Owners’ Association (ACCOA) said.
ACCOA further stated that the tax was imposed on major importers whose annual income is more than Rs. 10 million.
“The major importers used to add the tax when selling the products to retailers. In turn, the retailers increase the prices with added taxes when selling their products to customers,” Perera said.
He said the government announced the Social Security Contribution Tax at 2%, but when the product reaches the customer, it will be nearly 5%. As a result, the prices of mobile phones and accessories will definitely go up again.
He said the country’s economy is in a chaotic status now. The government can only increase the taxes and tariffs, but it cannot restore the national economy, Perera said.
A significant increase in the price of mobile phone accessories has been reported in Sri Lanka at present owing to import restrictions , the Sri Lanka Mobile Phone Importers and Sellers Association has revealed.
Association President Samitha Senarath told the media that there is a shortage of mobile phones in the country currently.
Stating that the purchasing of new mobile phones by the public has also drastically reduced, he said, however, prices of spare parts and mobile phone accessories have seen a significant increase.
“A battery that generally costs around Rs. 450 is now being sold at Rs. 1500 due to the current importation ban and current situation,” he added.
Mobile phone theft and smuggling of phones are rapidly increasing day by day making it difficult for the law enforcement authorities and Sri Lanka to crack down on robbers and smugglers.
Ineed online system developed to help the lost mobile phone owners has become a time consuming affair due to the lack of coordination between the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) ,the Police and service providers in updating the system to locate the lost mobile phones.
Most of these thieves are used to sell stolen mobiles to underground operating centres engaged in dismantling phones to remove parts to re-sell them to phone repair shops at high prices, officials said.
The delay in the detection of lost phone locations has become an impetus to these robbers , they said.
A mobile phone dealer said, well-known brands such as Samsung, MI, and vivo do not come direct from China, but through Dubai.
The phones that are imported through Dubai are much better than the ones that are directly imported from China, he said. He added that Dubai’s standards are very high. However, business has now come to a standstill.
He said, prices have soared over the past couple of months like he has never seen before. He added that a mobile phone which used to cost around Rs 23,000, now costs around Rs 47,000. Not only the mobile phones, but also the covers, batteries, earphones, and chargers cost more.
