Garima Misra, MD, Landmark Group

The automobile industry’s demands from the Budget primarily revolve around increasing consumption in the market by ironing out all roadblocks. Garima Misra, MD, Landmark Group shares her wishlist:

Reduce import duty on EVs
"First and foremost, the government hasn’t announced any tax benefits specific to EVs. If we are setting big targets for EV adoption in India, imports will become necessary and there is need for some rebate on EV imports by taking into account the current bandwidth of local manufacturers present in the country.

One cannot push EVs by putting a dictum; the government needs to iron out all the hindrances. We need to figure which are the lacunas and resolve them. A reduction in import duty for a three-year window will act as a catalyst and spur demand, especially in the luxury car segment.

Reduce GST on vehicle leasing
"To promote different types of vehicle ownership models in the passenger vehicle space, the government should look at reducing the GST applicable on leasing a vehicle. Currently, the lessee cannot take input-tax credit on the 28 percent GST paid on a lease rental. If allowed, it will definitely create more demand in the market.

Make scrappage policy actionable
"While the policy has laid out the fine print, the government has not mandated the policy it in that way, and the incentives that are to be offered to vehicle manufacturers are also not detailed, which is why there is no promotion of the scrappage policy. The need is for a clear timeline for the execution of scrapping of these end-of-life vehicles.

Urgent sops for two-wheelers
"The two-wheeler industry in India, currently is in doldrums, largely because of the high fuel prices as well as high interest rates. Most dealers are sitting at an inventory of 60-90 days, and the government needs to intervene immediately and offer some direct or indirect sops."