Thinking of installing CCTV? You may want to increase your budget...
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Thinking of installing CCTV? You may want to increase your budget...

Although the cost of CCTV cameras has gone down, the cost of the accompanying equipment has gone up post-GST.

Thinking of installing CCTV? You may want to increase your budget...

Have you been planning to instal CCTV cameras in your house, society or office over the past few months but haven't yet gotten around to do it? Well, tough luck, as installing surveillance cameras may get more expensive after the Goods and Service Tax (GST), if the dealers across town are to be believed.

Although the cost of CCTV cameras has gone down (from *27 per cent tax to 18 per cent in GST), thanks to the fact that the government considered its pivotal role in nabbing criminals, the cost of the accompanying equipment has gone up post-GST. 

Manufacturers said they had met Arun Jaitley, Union Finance Minister and chairman of GST council, and requested him to place CCTV cameras in the lower slab of the new levy, as end users were already paying high tax rates while procuring cameras. 

The owner of Perfect Computer, a supplier of CCTV cameras in Nehru Place, one of the biggest business centres in Delhi, said that the cost of digital video recorders (DVRs) had increased by 5.5 per cent (12.5 per cent to 18 per cent) after GST. A similar rate is applicable on the purchase of monitors.

There will be a considerable increase in the cost of cabling as well. While the pre-GST tax on both power and networking cables was 5 per cent, the tax on them has been increased to 18 per cent and 28 per cent respectively.  

Annu Khan, who has been in the business of installing CCTV cameras and its kits, said that although consumption of cables for preparing network depended on the length of cables, as a rule of thumb, about 70 to 80 bundles of cable were consumed for a residential complex housing 1,000 flats. “There will be a slight difference in prices of these items, as business runs in a competitive environment and small suppliers will have to reduce the margin of profit to sustain in the market,” he added. 

 

*The 27 per cent  tax included 12.5 per cent countervailing/import duty plus 14.5 per cent VAT.