New Delhi: Government on June 25 withdrew the 16 per cent excise duty on the set-top boxes to be used in the Conditional Access System (CAS) to view pay TV channels, a decision that may bring down the prices of the boxes by about Rs 250 to Rs 300 each.

An official notification issued on June 24 said the excise duty had been reduced from 16 per cent to zero on domestic set-top boxes required for viewing pay channels under CAS from July 15.

The price of set-top boxes range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 4,500 each and the abolition of the 16 per cent excise duty is likely to bring down their prices by about Rs 250 to Rs 300 each, industry sources said.

Earlier in May, government had slashed the import duty on set-top boxes by about 45 per cent.

However, the effective import duty cut from 50.8 per cent to five per cent is valid only till July 31.

The excise duty cut is not for a limited period as in the case of custom duty rebate, which was offered for easy availability of these boxes as the domestic industry was not fully geared to meet the anticipated demand.

Along with the excise duty cut, government also reduced basic customs duty from 25 per cent to 5 per cent on certain components to be used in domestic set-top boxes.

PTI