Budget 2020: Government proposes to hike customs duty on imported electric vehicles
To push local manufacturing in the EV segment, the government has increased customs duty on imported CBUs of commercial EVs to 40 percent with effect from April 1, 2020.
Imported electric vehicles are set to become costlier as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday announced an increase in customs duty on various kinds of such vehicles, as the government pushes to promote local production.
"Under 'Make in India' initiative, well laid-out customs duty rates were pre-announced for items like mobile phones, electric vehicles, and their components. This has ensured a gradual increase in domestic value addition capacity in India," Sitharaman said while presenting Budget 2020-21.
Customs duty rates are being revised on electric vehicles (EVs), and parts of mobiles, as part of such carefully conceived phased manufacturing plans, she added.
To push local manufacturing in the EV segment, the government has increased customs duty on imported completely built units (CBUs) of commercial EVs to 40 percent with effect from April 1, 2020, from 25 percent currently.
The Finance Minister also proposed to enhance customs duty on semi knocked-down (SKD) forms of passenger EVs from 15 percent to 30 percent.
Similarly, the government has proposed to hike customs duty on SKD forms of electric buses, trucks, and two-wheelers to 25 percent from 15 percent currently, with effect from April 1, 2020.
Besides, the customs duty on completely knocked-down (CKD) forms of passenger EVs, three-wheelers, two-wheelers, bus, and trucks have been proposed to go up to 15 percent from the current 10 percent.
With the government pushing for green mobility, various car makers have launched EVs in the country in the past few years. Besides, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai Motor, and MG Motor India have also introduced electric models.
Similarly, companies like Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and JLR are also gearing up to introduce electric models in the country. With enhanced customs duty on SKD forms, such vehicles are expected to cost more.
Sitharaman also proposed to increase customs duty on CBUs of traditional commercial vehicles from 30 percent to 40 percent.
The government also proposed to increase customs duty from 5 percent to 7.5 percent on parts used to manufacture catalytic converters.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
