The UK has sought customs duty concessions on exports of electric vehicles to India under the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), which is under negotiations, an official said. However, the official said, no decision has been taken so far on the issue.
There is a demand to provide concessions on a specified number of vehicles per year, the official added.
The fast-growing EV market in India is catching the eyes of global players. The UK is also looking at phasing out ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles by 2035, and the British auto market is export-driven.
According to experts, the UK’s major export destination for vehicles is Europe, and they are looking to diversify their exports.
“The UK has sought concessions on electric vehicles from India as part of the ongoing free trade agreement negotiations,” the official, who did not wish to be named, said.
India’s electric vehicles market is expected to grow to one crore units in annual sales by 2030 and create five crore direct and indirect jobs, according to the Economic Survey 2022-23.
As per industry estimates, the total EV sales in India stood at around 10 lakh units in 2022.
On the back of increasing EV demand, the Indian government is providing fiscal incentives to promote domestic manufacturing of these cars. It is also attracting US major Tesla to set up a plant in India.
The government has rolled out production-linked incentives (PLI) schemes for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery storage with an outlay of INR 18,100 crore and INR 26,058 crore PLI scheme for auto, auto-components and drone industries.
In India, Tata Motors is the leading player in passenger electric vehicles. The company’s current EV portfolio comprises Nexon EV range, Tiago EV and Tigor EV.
The negotiations for the FTA are underway, and both sides are discussing issues that are slightly complex in nature.
So far, 13 rounds of talks have been completed.
Issues under negotiation include social security pact, automobiles, medical devices, movement of professionals; rules of origin; intellectual property rights (IPINR ); duty concessions on electric vehicles, scotch whiskey, lamb meat, and chocolates; and liberalisation of norms in services sectors like banking and insurance.
India and the UK launched the talks for a free-trade agreement (FTA) in January 2022, with an aim to conclude talks by Diwali (October 24, 2022), but the deadline was missed due to political developments in the UK.
There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights.
