Delhi government waives off road tax on EVs

India's capital city is all set to give a new charge to electric vehicle mobility. The Transport Department of the Delhi government has issued a gazette notification, stating full waiver on road tax on the battery-operated vehicles under the Delhi EV policy.

The government has also called for suggestions from the public on the exemption on the registration fee and orders to waive off the fee will be issued in the next three days.

On August 7, the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal had announced the landmark Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy 2020, with a heightened focus to increase the adoption of electric vehicles in the capital region by incentivising the purchase and use of the EVs. The policy aims to register 500,000 electric vehicles in the city by 2024. 

This will be driven by a flurry of incentives offered by the state government through its newly incorporated ‘State EV Fund’ as well as the State Electric Vehicle Board which will be chaired by the transport minister – Kailash Gahlot. A dedicated EV Cell is also being established to implement the policy at the ground level. 

Commenting on the latest announcement, Kailash Gahlot, Delhi Transport Minister tweeted, "Congrats Delhi! As promised by CM Arvind Kejriwal when announcing the landmark EV Policy, the Delhi government has exempted road tax on battery-operated vehicles. With the right incentives and supporting infra, we are determined to ensure Delhi leads the country in rapid transition to electric vehicles."

As per the notification issued by the Transport Department, the rules issued in the policy for the exemption of registration fee have been opened for public opinion. The notification states "the said draft will be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of three days from the date on which the copies of this notification as published in the Gazette of Delhi are made available to the public. Objections or suggestions in this behalf should be addressed to Secretary-cum-Commissioner (Transport), Government of National Capital of Delhi, Transport Department."

The Delhi government has implemented the electric vehicle policy to promote the use of electric vehicles to reduce air pollution. Thereafter, the Special Commissioner of Transport Department Shashi Kaushal has issued a notification with the order of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, under which tax exemption on all battery electric vehicles has been provided. This policy has come into force from the date of issue of this notification, i.e., road tax will not be paid on the electric vehicles starting October 10, 2020.

Industry welcomes moves
Commenting on the announcement P Sanjeev, COO, Ampere Electric said: “We are elated to see the efforts of the Delhi government towards accelerating EV adoption. This road tax exemption on battery-operated vehicles will lead to much needed rapid transition towards environment-friendly mobility solutions. We truly appreciate this progressive approach of the government to increase affordability for electric vehicles."

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