Electric cars have been the least explored options for a car buyer and the major reason being its pricing, noticing the same, the Government of Maharashtra announced waiving off taxes in order to secure a pollution free environment.
This new year has to be very special especially among the environmentalists across the nation. The year started with the odd-even rule and a ban on private diesel vehicle registrations above 2000cc in Delhi, with this conservation of nature has been christened as epitome of modern Indian governance. Announcements on saving the planet Earth has been the talk of the town for some time since the Paris summit and this move only helps the conservation factor more.
The Government of Maharashtra announced their policy to not tax electric vehicles purchased within their jurisdiction. The non-taxation policy would be formally made available to the public quite soon. This policy will see taxes like value added tax, road tax and registration charges being completely waived off by the respective authorities, it indeed surprises and comes as a moment to rejoice for what would have otherwise been another dubious policy.
The policy to exempt or waive taxes for electric cars seems to be encouraging and challenging at the same time, in a market with no alternative to the only player, this move could establish monopoly at the moment. Understanding that the electric powered car segment has been completely ignored for conventional volume manufactured fuel guzzling units, this move by the government could lay the initial developmental stages towards a new electric car segment with more manufacturers vying for more space.
The only electric car retailing at the moment is Mahindra’s e2o and the vehicle is definitely going to get benefitted from this scheme. The existing norms and taxes forces the e2o to be priced optimistically beyond Rs. 5 lakhs per unit for what is basically a hatchback with shorter underpinnings, but the waiver could find the e2o’s price reducing substantially while promoting a pollution free drive within a limited range. The next move we could hopefully expect from the government is to develop electric vehicle infrastructure to extend its viability.
