unable to convince the Indian government to lower import duties on electric vehicles, has found an unexpected ally in Aaditya Thackeray, Maharashtra’s tourism and environment minister.
On Wednesday night, Thackeray announced on Twitter that he had written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman with a list of recommendations for India’s EV sector, including lowering import duties for all electric car makers for a certain period.
I have written to the Hon’ble Finance Minister of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman ji a few humble suggestions to give… https://t.co/inaEn6b17O
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) 1642606877000
“Pioneering companies like Tesla, Rivian, Audi, BMW among many others must be given a time-bound concessionary customs rate for the import of vehicles for retail sale. This will drive [their] aspiration value in the market, boost investment in our supply chain and encourage the startup ecosystem to follow the lead of such companies,” Thackeray wrote.
He said the concessionary rate could be temporary—up to three years—or could apply to a fixed number of vehicles. These concessions could also be against a fixed investment guarantee in India’s auto supply chain or charging infrastructure, he added.
“A mere high import duty only adds to the burden of the customer and does not lay the ground for any industry investment as custom revenues are not directly used for sectoral investments,” the Thackeray scion wrote.
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Tesla has been seeking a reduction in India’s import duties ever since it incorporated its Indian entity in 2021. Last August, Musk said on Twitter India’s import duties on EVs were “the highest in the world by far of any large country”. Last week, he tweeted about “challenges” his company was still facing with the Indian government.
India has a 60% import duty on fully imported cars that cost $40,000 or less, and a 100% duty on vehicles that cost more than $40,000. Even Tesla’s most affordable car, the Model 3, would attract 100% import duty.
