In a major setback for Electric Vehicle maker Tesla, the Indian finance ministry on Thursday said it is not considering any custom duty waiver for the Elon Musk-owned company.
“Any duty waiver for Tesla is not under active consideration of the Department of Revenue, as of now,” Reuters quoted India’s revenue secretary Sanjay Malhotra as saying.
The finance ministry’s statement came after Musk had claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged his company to make substantial investments in India.
Malhotra’s statement carries importance as the Electric Vehicle maker in the past had sought custom waivers for importing Tesla cars into India. But India had denied Tesla’s request in the past, leading to a breakdown in the talks to establish a presence in Asia’s third-largest economy.
It is not be noted that India imposes a 100 per cent import duty on Electric Vehicles.
Tesla, the world’s most-valued automaker, was recently in the news for holding discussions with the Indian government to establish a car factory. The Times of India had reported that Tesla was exploring the possibility of establishing its auto parts and electronics chain in India.
The proposed factory is expected to have an annual production capacity of 500,000 EVs, with prices starting at $24,400. Additionally, Tesla is looking at India as a base for its EVs, which will be exported to the Indo-Pacific region. This will also help the EV maker reduce its supply chain dependence on China.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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