Samsung had moved its TV production from India to Vietnam last year. It was manufacturing close to 300,000 TVs annually at a factory in Chennai. The move was the result of the government's decision to slap an import duty on display panels for TVs. It started importing TVs made in Vietnam to cater to the Indian market.
There was speculation earlier this year that the government could grant relief to Samsung if it committed to bringing back TV manufacturing to India if the import duty was removed. Samsung was initially said to be noncommittal to the idea. However, it appears that there has been a breakthrough.
Samsung may start manufacturing TVs in India again
Local media reports suggest that Samsung India will resume TV production in the country after a year as the government is going to scrap the import duty. Samsung will reportedly work with local contract manufacturer Dixon Technologies to manufacture TVs of up to 55 inches in display size. It would be sufficient to cater to over 85 percent of the Indian market.
Samsung already has a relationship with Dixon in India. The contract manufacturer has been associated with Samsung's home appliances segment for over two years. The two companies also teamed up to manufacture feature phones just last month. However, Dixon may not be the only contract manufacturer for Samsung TVs in India. The report mentions that Samsung is also evaluating options with other contract manufacturers to further increase local TV production in India.
Samsung is reportedly also evaluating the restart of the TV production line at its Chennai factory. It may seek concrete policy assurances from the government that the 5% import duty on panels that has been scrapped won't be reinstated for several years. It has already paid the cost once of relocating production to Vietnam and moving it back without an assurance would make little business sense.
