10 days after launch Windows 7 still not available to consumers

We have written a lot about it and have been blown away with the new operating system called Windows 7. One of the very few products that has managed to create right kind of buzz !

Indian Consumers were quite happy that not only did Microsoft offer discounted rates to them, but also introduced 2 cheaper flavours of Windows 7 that were not available in developed countries like US and UK

Everything looked good till this point – But here is something that will not go down too well with consumers who are ready with cash to get their hands on this O.S

Windows 7 has still not reached the retail Outlets and no Indian consumers are able to buy the O.S
Reason: Retail consignments of Windows 7 along with other over-the-counter (OTC) or packaged software are still held up at immigration checkpoints across the country due to anomalies over excise duty.

Here is another shocker – No one knows how long it will take to get these packaged Software’s out on the streets. It can be day, weeks or even months !

Here is the reason why – There is a Dual Taxation that is being levied on these softwares – Packaged software like Windows 7 now attracts both countervailing duty (CVD) at the point of import, as well as service tax at the point of sale."

Knowing the pace at which Indian Government works in these kind of matters is well known – Essentially, potential Windows 7 buyers are stuck indefinitely.

One of the reasons why Microsoft had launched Low Cost Editions as well as Discounts in India were to curb some amount of Piracy – but with this issue, it is more likely that pirated versions of Windows will be selling like hot cakes with roadside pirate sellers !

There is a small silver lining here though – The OEM versions or the versions which come along with new laptops / Netbooks pre-installed are spared. Luckily, for new buyers it will not be an issue.

Now the question is – Who is to be blamed for this? The Indian Government (finance Ministry) or Microsoft itself who knew about this issue before hand. Should they have launched Windows 7 in India after it was resolved?

Let us know your views

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Author: Arun Prabhudesai

Arun Prabhudesai is founder / chief editor at trak.in. He jumped the Entrepreneurship bandwagon in early 2008 after a long 13 year stint in I.T Industry. You can follow him on twitter @trakin or get in touch with him at admin-at-trak-dot-in or 91.9822575676.

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Tagged as: countervailing duty, dual Taxation, excise duty, finance ministry, government finance, government works, hot cakes, immigration checkpoints, Indian government, Indian-consumers, Low Cost Editions, oem versions, packaged software, Windows 7, Windows 7 cost in India, windows 7 launch, Windows 7 OEM version