Passenger Vehicle GST Rate Cut Not Needed Now, Says Maruti Suzuki

There is no immediate need for passenger vehicle GST rate cut as “the industry is doing well right now”, Maruti Suzuki has said.

Chairman of Maruti Suzuki India, R C Bhargava stated this on Thursday, adding that he does not think any automaker has suffered due to lack of demand.

It was only recently that Tata Motors had called for passenger vehicle GST rate cut, claiming that any kind of government support in the matter would benefit the whole industry.

According to the largest carmaker of the nation which holds around half of the total market share, the industry has done pretty well in the second quarter (Q2), with demand looking good for the next few months.

Further, the Maruti Suzuki Chairman said the market situation for the third quarter looks adequate and added that the GST impact will not arise.

Bhargava stated that giving relief, when there is no lack of demand “would be quite unnecessary”. He said, if there is a sustained dip in demand, then the government will need to step in.

Categorically stating that he sees no immediate need for passenger vehicle GST rate cut, the top Maruti Suzuki executive noted that the firm is selling everything it is producing at the moment.

However, he did note that if GST went down and demand rose by 30 percent, then the firm would not have cars to sell as there are production constraints.

So far, in the second quarter of the fiscal year, the company claims it has been able to save Rs. 270 crores more than the same period the year before. It also added that lack of diesel cars has not adversely impacted its sales figures.