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Kolkata | New Delhi: Consumer goods firms are implementing price increases triggered by higher costs in the wake of the Iran war, a development that industry executives said could dent demand in the coming weeks and effectively erase the benefits accruing from the goods and services tax (GST) rate cuts of last September.Prices of products such as televisions and air-conditioners (ACs) have surpassed the pre-GST rate cut levels with these hikes, they said, pointing out that the latest round of rate revisions have occurred much earlier than many had anticipated. Companies, in their communications to trade partners, attributed the latest price hikes to volatility in commodity prices, rupee depreciation, higher logistics costs, including sea freight, and costlier energy.In the electronics segment, LG, Samsung, Panasonic, Daikin and Havells-owned Lloyd have issued circulars to their trade partners announcing price increases. LG, in a notice on Friday, said it will raise AC prices by 10%, while prices of other products will go up by up to 5% from April.Panasonic, too, informed the trade on Friday of an 8-12% hike in AC prices, while Daikin India announced increases of up to 12%. Lloyd has already raised prices from Saturday. Samsung, too, has implemented price hikes, including for televisions, citing a surge in memory chip prices.Earlier, consumer goods makers had increased prices by 5-9% in January for products such as ACs and TVs, passing on higher production costs.Higher costs have been incurred following tighter energy star rating norms and higher input costs.In automobiles, Tata Motors has announced a price hike of 0.5% to 1.5% across passenger (internal combustion engine) and commercial vehicles, respectively, from April. Luxury carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are raising prices by up to 2% next month, while Honda is also evaluating an increase. Most other manufacturers are likely to follow suit.Industry executives warn that demand could weaken further as the latest hikes effectively wipe out the gains from the 10% GST rate cuts. Pulkit Baid, director at leading electronics retail chain Great Eastern Retail, termed the recent rounds of price increases “unfortunate” and said they disregarded the prevailing consumer sentiment. “Brands had already raised prices post-GST reduction due to higher raw material costs. In the current turbulent environment, such frequent increases will adversely impact demand,” he said.The chief executive of a leading electronics brand said demand was only beginning to recover, but repeated price hikes could hurt demand even when there are no other options left.Audi India brand director Balbir Singh Dhillon told ET that luxury vehicle sales increased just 2-3% in the first two months of the year, impacted by price increases necessitated by rupee depreciation.“Car prices have risen 25–30% over the past five years due to annual increases. This has made it difficult for consumers looking to upgrade from the mass premium to the luxury segment,” Dhillon said.LG Electronics India said in its trade communication that input costs had seen a significant and sustained increase over the past month. Panasonic’s managing director for the heating, ventilation and AC business, Hirokazu Kamoda, said in its trade communication that there had also been an increase in “lead times for availability” of raw materials.