TAC tariff: Indian handset makers blame GSMA for favouring Chinese brands

NEW DELHI: Indian mobile handset companies have accused GSMA of bias in favour of Chinese handset makers, saying the telecom lobby body offers them sharp discounts on a crucial code allocation fee, while Indian players have to pay the full fee.

The Indian companies such as Micromax, Karbonn, Celkon, DataWind, Lemon, Ziox, Maxx and HiTech, have also demanded a full refund of about $5-6 million for their cumulative payments from 2010 to 2017, a period when the Chinese players weren’t charged at all, and have sought the government’s intervention in the matter. The local companies, which sought to be treated at par with their Chinese rivals, added that the fee disparity has allowed companies from the Far East to displace the home bred players in the Indian market.