In what could be a blow for Tesla, the US-based electric vehicle manufacturer, the government has said that it has no plans to cut import duties on electric vehicles. This comes days after Tesla CEO Elon Musk had expressed hopes that the Indian govt will slash tax on imported electric cars.
Krishan Pal Gurjar, who was recently inducted in the cabinet as the MoS in the Ministry of Power and Heavy Industries said that the Centre has no proposal to ease Tesla’s entry into India. On Monday, he said, “No such proposal is under consideration in Ministry of Heavy Industries,” He added that the government is however taking steps to promote the use of electric cars by lowering domestic taxes and adding charging stations.
Earlier, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he is hoping for ‘temporary tariff relief for electric vehicles. Musk had said that Tesla wants to launch its cars soon in India, but Indian ‘import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country!’
Tesla last month wrote to the transport and industry ministries requesting them to cut import duty on electric cars to 40% from the current range of 60%-100%, Bloomberg News had reported.
Replying to YouTuber Madan Gowri who requested Musk to launch Tesla cars in India, Musk said, “We want to do so, but import duties are the highest in the world by far of any large country! Moreover, clean energy vehicles are treated the same as diesel or petrol, which does not seem entirely consistent with the climate goals of India.”
In a separate tweet, Elon also mentioned that Tesla will be willing to open a factory in India. However, there is a major caveat. The factory is only possible if the imported cars receive a good response in India.
Tesla is planning its entry in India and earlier this year, the company even registered its brand in the country and has been hiring talent as well.
Source : Live Mint
