SC order: Enough time for auto industry to plan production activity in advance

The Supreme Court order on BS IV vehicles would give enough time to auto manufacturers to plan their production activity in advance, an auto analyst said.

"The Supreme Court decision gives clarity to vehicle manufacturers and helps them plan their production and inventory well in advance of the April 1, 2020 deadline," Grant Thornton India LLP Partner Sridhar V said when contacted over the issue.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur made it clear that only BS VI compliant vehicle shall be sold in the country from April 1, 2020.

The order gives them (manufacturers) a clear 16-18 months and certainly a welcome decision removing any ambiguity unlike when BS IV became mandatory across India a year or so back, Sridhar V added.

Officials of the industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said they would comment on the matter only after going through the judgement thoroughly.

When contacted a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said: "It is a court order and we will follow". The auto major has over 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle market.

Earlier in the day, the apex court said that no BS IV vehicle shall be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020.

The Bharat stage emission norms are instituted by the government to regulate air pollutants from motor vehicles.

The Bharat Stage VI (or BS-VI) emission norm would come into force from April 1, 2020 across the country.

The BS IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.

In 2016, the Centre had announced that the country would skip the BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020.

The apex court was deciding whether grace period should be given to automobile manufacturers for the sale of BS-VI non-compliant vehicles after April 1, 2020.