Govt may consider cess on conventional vehicles to promote EVs Thursday

Top government officials will meet here Thursday to discuss plans to promote clean energy vehicles in the country, including a contentious proposal to impose cess of Rs 500-Rs 25,000 on conventional vehicles, according to sources.

The meeting of the Committee of Secretaries on Total Mobility to be chaired by Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha is expected to take up the 'Feebate' proposal by Niti Aayog to levy cess on polluting vehicles to subsidise zero emission ones, mostly electric vehicles.

The proposal envisages imposing an average Feebate of Rs 500 on internal combustion engine (ICE) two-wheelers which is graded based on the emissions of the vehicle in first year, an official source said.

Similarly, an average Feebate of Rs 1,000 on ICE three-wheelers, Rs 12,000 on four-wheelers and Rs 25,000 on commercial vehicles, including buses and trucks, has been proposed, the source added.

The Niti Aayog proposal is aimed at generating extra budgetary resources to the tune of Rs 7,646 crore in the first year to incentivise buyers of electric vehicles (EVs)