A big push for e-vehicles as government orders 100% tax exemption

Electric car producers and people eager to personal clear power autos have rather a lot to cheer this competition season with the State government saying 100% tax exemption for battery operated autos for greater than two years. The further excellent news is that the tax exemption is being prolonged to even transport autos (that are used for business functions).

In a Government Order issued by Additional Chief Secretary S.K. Prabhakar on Monday, the State government gave 100% tax exemption for all battery-operated autos, together with transport and non-transport ones, from November 3 to December 31, 2022.

Transport Commissioner T.S. Jawahar mentioned the choice of the State government would assist in giving a big push to electrical car gross sales and in addition assist in lowering air pollution. He mentioned that regardless of the sooner tax waiver of fifty% given solely to non-transport autos, gross sales within the State had been nonetheless missing.

The G.O. comes within the wake of the Transport Commissioner looking for 100% waiver of car tax for each transport and non-transport autos by means of a letter to Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami in November final.

A senior official of the State Transport Department mentioned a number of State governments and Union Territories, such as Delhi, had been giving tax breaks of various percentages however a big State like Tamil Nadu giving 100% exemption would pave the way in which for selling the sale of e-vehicles for business exploitation in a big means. All that the e-vehicle purchasers must pay could be the registration costs of a minimal of ₹1,200 for two-wheelers and ₹2,500 for four-wheelers.

Electric car producers welcomed the transfer to waive highway tax for greater than two years.

Festival positive factors

Ravneet Singh Phokela, chief enterprise officer, Ather Energy, mentioned, “The past few days have been great for the e-vehicle industry, with progressive policies continuing to come into play. The removal of the 4% road tax will significantly reduce upfront costs. This has come at an opportune time for Ather as we begin deliveries of the Ather 450X in Chennai this Deepavali. With this announcement, residents of Chennai and Coimbatore will now save nearly ₹6,900 when they purchase Ather scooters. This is a welcome move for the entire industry and will accelerate the shift towards EVs.”

However, clear power activists are taking the tax break with a pinch of salt. Sivasubramaniam, of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy India, mentioned, “A welcome move from the Tamil Nadu government to promote electric vehicles. However, the sale of private motor vehicles is already sky-rocketing since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Considering the higher reliance on private motor vehicles, it is advisable to consider the purchase of new vehicles along with old vehicle buyback and scrapping policies.”

This would assist in controlling the variety of autos within the system, he mentioned. In addition, selling electrical autos was higher for the surroundings provided that it was totally supported by means of clear power, he added.