Freedom 251 mobile price brings Ringing Bells under Income Tax Dept scanner

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After Ringing Bells set Freedom 251 mobile price at just Rs 251 and took the entire country by storm, the Mohit Kumar Goel-led company has come under the scanner of excise and Income Tax Departments over how it has managed to offer a smartphone as cheap as this and also the actual feasibility of the entire deal. Since the government itself says the smartphone should have cost, at its cheapest, at Rs 2,300 and the company has said the mobile phone's cost is around Rs 2,500, the debate rages as to what is going to happen next and some are already referring to it as the Freedom 251 mobile scam. Perhaps, the Income Tax Department will manage to clear the air. <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/photos/technology-gallery/214613/freedom-251-mobile-priced-at-dirt-cheap-rs-251-all-you-wanted-to-know-in-10-points/"><strong>Freedom 251 mobile priced at dirt cheap Rs 251: All you wanted to know in 10 points </strong></a>

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Freedom 251 mobile: “Yes, there was a visit from excise department and Income Tax Department. Since we are planning to achieve milestones under Make in India, Skill India and Startup India. They issued us some guidelines for future and extended full support and cooperation,” Ringing Bells President Ashok Chaddha said in a statement. Also under scanner would be exactly how much of truth there is in the company's promise of the mobile phone being a 'Make In India' product. The actual component rate has not been explained.

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Freedom 251 mobile: Earlier this week, Ringing Bells launched the world’s cheapest smartphone the Freedom 251 mobile priced at Rs 251 amid great fanfare – while the company had said Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar would do the honours at the launch, it was actually senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M M Joshi who actually did it. (AP)

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Freedom 251 mobile: Apart from government scanner, the celebrations of launching the world's cheapest smartphone, the Freedom 251 haven’t lasted long as Ringing Bells found itself surrounded by another controversy too – of showcasing a rival company, Adcom’s handset, as its own. Chaddha clarified that “it wanted to show a sample or prototype of what the handsets will look like. This is not the final piece.”

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Freedom 251 mobile: Chaddha rushed to reassure those who have already booked the mobile phone (according to Ringing Bells it has received over 5 crore registrations) and said, “In view of the shortage of time and given that these were to serve only as prototypes given FOC to a limited list of persons, we went ahead. We would clearly mention that the final Freedom 251 manufactured/assembled in India would be to identical specs – i.e. no change.” (Express photo)