Maran to urge PM to lower taxes on PCs

Days after world's second-biggest computer maker Dell Inc complained of high taxes in India, IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Thursday said he will raise the issue of reducing duties on personal computers with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Maran said he would write to both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister P Chidambaram for rationalisation of tax structure applicable on PCs.

The reduction of taxes on mobile phones led to a high growth in the telecom sector and attracted some of the biggest multinationals like Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola to set up manufacturing units in the country, he said.

Maran's comments came less than 48 hours after Michael Dell said high taxes in India were impeding the usage and manufacturing of PCs in the country.

Dell had said about 25 per cent of the cost of a PC goes as taxes in India and if these were brought down the market could grow substantially. This growth would also attract large high technology companies to set up base in India.

Dell procures $19 billion worth of components from China and Taiwan while nothing from India as there was no manufacturing base for high technology items, he had said.