The government’s decision to sharply cut the GST rate on electric vehicles (EVs) and its chargers had brought cheer to the India’s fledgling EV industry, as they expect the move to make EVs affordable, and thereby boost the demand. The GST Council on June 27 reduced the rate on EVs from 12 percent to 5 percent and on EV chargers from 18 percent to 5 percent, effective from August 1. The GST Council also approved exemption from GST on hiring of electric buses by local authorities. The government said that the loss of revenue due to the rate cut isn’t going to be not more than Rs 60-70 crore. The government is lately showing very clear intentions of promoting EVs and GST reduction is one such measure in line with the series of actions taken by the government in the last few months. In India, electric two-wheelers have been the major part of EV sales, with  54,800 such vehicles sold out of the total two crore two-wheelers sold in 2018. Analysts say the GST rate cut will motivate people to opt for EVs.

(Moneycontrol)