The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to cut tax rates on electric vehicles and chargers starting from 1 August.
The tax rate has been reduced from 12% to 5% on vehicles and from 18% to 5% on electric vehicle chargers.
Tax cuts and concessions such as these are part of the push that policy makers are looking to give to the electric vehicles industry in the hope that it will reduce India’s dependence on fossil fues for transportation. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, had also announced tax relief for purchasers of electric vehicles in the budget FY19-20.
India is committed to achieving 40% of its electric power requirement from non-fossil fuel based energy sources. Currently, the market share of electric vehicles is extremely low, but it appears things could change drastically over the next decade.