FICCI Chairman of the Electric Vehicles Committee of India Sulajja Firodia Motwani has stressed the need to reduce the GST rate on batteries and charging services to keep electric vehicles competitive. Speaking at the FICCI National Conference on electric vehicles, he also advocated increasing the Prime Minister’s E-Drive Fund to increase sales of electric vehicles. “We will recommend the GST Council to rationalize the taxation of GST on EV-related sectors,” Motwani said.
18 percent GST applied on cargo
Elaborating on the demands, he said, “Currently 18 per cent GST is imposed on cargo services, we will request to reduce it to 5 per cent, so that cargo is available to consumers at a lower cost.” The GST rate on used batteries should also be reduced to 5 per cent. Motwani is also the founder and CEO of Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions. He said: “There is 5 per cent GST for electric vehicles, while there is 18 per cent GST for batteries.
Demand for review of the incentive amount under the Prime Minister’s e-Drive program
Sulajja said these two GST reforms will go a long way in making electric vehicles more competitive for consumers. Motwani welcomed the Prime Minister’s e-Drive program and said that with the growing demand, there is a need to review the incentive amount. He said that since demand is increasing, perhaps the incentive amount should be reviewed. He further said, “We believe that Pradhan Mantri e-Drive has great potential and will prove very useful in promoting electric transportation.”
The government had initiated the Prime Minister’s electric drive scheme in October.
Let us tell you that in October this year, the Central Government launched the Pradhan Mantri E-Drive program with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore to promote electric vehicles, establish charging infrastructure and develop the electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem in India . This scheme will be applicable from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026.
With PTI inputs
Latest business news
