New Delhi: The Indian government may consider Telsa’s request for lowering the import taxes in India if the electric vehicle major starts to invest in setting up a manufacturing facility in the country. Previously, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk had urged the Centre to reduce import duty in electric vehicles, as the firm wants to bring its latest electric vehicles as completely built units initially before looking at its assembly and manufacturing in India.
Musk had pointed out that import taxes on electric vehicles in India are the highest in the world. "We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!" he had said while responding to a tweet urging him to launch Tesla’s electric vehicles in India as soon as possible.
"Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India," he added. At present, India imposes a 60 per cent tax on imported cars priced below $40,000 and 100% on cars priced more than $40,000.
Responding to the request, an official source reportedly highlighted that the government may consider the request if the electric vehicle major assures that it’ll manufacture cars in the country, besides committing investment to set up a production plant.
According to a report by IANS, the official also cleared that any decision on the relaxation of import taxes or extension of any other sops will be applicable to the entire sector and not to Tesla or any other company in particular.
In recent months, the Central as well as state governments have offered numerous incentives to boost the production and sales of electric vehicles in India. Delhi and Maharashtra have already announced their own EV policies. Also Read: Jawa’s electric bikes with retro design could launch in 2022
From incentivising EV manufacturing in India to offering tax benefits on the purchase of electric vehicles, the government are working to fuel the shift to clean energy vehicles. Also Read: HDFC Bank customers can withdraw cash without a debit or ATM card, here’s how
(With inputs from IANS)
