The excise duty hike has made cars more expensive and people are confused as to when will the price increase become applicable. Well the increase in excise duty becomes applicable from the mid-night of the very day it was announced, that is the 16th of March, 2012. However, this hike will not be applicable to everyone immediately as the new excise duty structure will be applicable to cars which have been dispatched after the 16th. So vehicles which are already dispatched and lying at the dealerships/stock yards will not bear the burden of the price hike.
Companies usually dispatch vehicles long time before it is actually sold. Some are stored in the go-downs while others are pending documentation (from RTO, etc). There are many of our readers whose cars have arrived at the dealership before the 16th and you don’t have to pay the increase in price. So all those who are worried about taking delivery after the 16th, need not worry at all about the price hike. If your dealer is arguing and asking you to pay the increased price, its best to check the date of dispatch and put things right. Every dealer has a document which gives the date of arrival of the vehicle. Checking the date of manufacturing will also give you a rough idea about when the vehicle reached the dealer.
