Centre launches plan to boost EV industry

New Delhi

The central government has started a new scheme to attract foreign electric vehicle (EV) companies to invest in India. The goal is to make India a global hub for electric car production.

Under this plan, companies like Tesla can import ready-made electric cars at a lower customs duty of 15% for five years. These cars must be worth at least $35,000 each. The scheme is open only to companies investing at least ₹4,150 crore in India.

Only 8,000 such cars can be imported per year per company. If a company does not use the full limit in a year, it can carry forward the unused units. The total duty relief allowed to a company will be limited to ₹6,484 crore or their investment amount, whichever is lower.

The government will check the local value added to the cars using rules under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. All investments must support local car manufacturing. For brownfield projects, the new work area must be clearly separated from old ones.

Money spent on machines, equipment, and research will count as investment. Land costs will not be counted. However, plant buildings can be included if they are within 10% of the total investment. Costs for EV charging stations can count up to 5%.

Companies must also give a bank guarantee for the amount of customs duty waived or ₹4,150 crore. This move supports India’s climate goals and 'Make in India' efforts. It aims to bring new jobs, boost the economy, and promote clean energy vehicles across the country.