SC allows sale of diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above in Delhi, NCR

According to reports, owners will now have to pay one per cent of price as 'green cess'

The Supreme Court has lifted the ban on registration of diesel cars with capacity of 2,000cc and above in Delhi-NCR, reported CNBC-TV18 on Friday.

Owners will now have to pay one per cent of price as “green cess”.

German car-maker Mercedes had on Monday moved the apex court seeking a lifting of the ban, saying it was ready to pay one per cent environment cess on sale of diesel cars.

The news was welcomed by the auto industry after a series of lower court rulings banned diesel vehicles, both new and old, on concerns that their exhaust fumes were contributing to Delhi's deepening air pollution crisis.

Country's highest court will decide later on whether to impose the so-called green cess on diesel vehicles with smaller engines, according to Harish Salve, a lawyer connected to the case.

Pravin Shah, CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra Motor, welcomed the Supreme Court ruling in comments to financial news channel CNBC-TV18.

Court-ordered restrictions on diesel vehicles, which experts say cause worse air pollution than other engine types, are often contradictory and poorly enforced in India, leading the industry to complain over lost sales and high compliance costs.

Shares in Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki India, all ended the day higher on Friday, following the ruling.

On December 11, 2015, the National Green Tribunal had banned registration of new diesel-run vehicles in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) noting that diesel was the prime source of pollution.

Later, the Supreme Court ordered that diesel-run standard utility vehicles and cars having engine capacity beyond 2,000cc would not be registered in Delhi-NCR.