Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that there is no proposal before the ministry to lower import duty on electric vehicles.
A Reuters report earlier in the day claimed that India is working on a new electric vehicle policy that would slash import taxes for automakers that commit to some local manufacturing, following a proposal by Tesla which is considering entering the domestic market.
The policy being considered, the report said, could allow automakers to import fully-built EVs into India at a reduced tax as low as 15%, compared to the current 100% that applies to cars that cost above USD 40,000 and 70% for the rest.
Tesla first tried to enter India in 2021 by pushing officials to lower the 100% import tax for EVs. Last year, the talks between Tesla and the Indian government collapsed when officials conveyed the company would have to first commit to local manufacturing.
More recently, Tesla has told Indian officials it is keen to set up a local factory and make a new EV priced in the range of USD 24,000, around 25% cheaper than its current entry model, for both the Indian market and export.
