Tamil Nadu amends policy to enable registration of e-autorickshaws, e-taxis

The government of Tamil Nadu has issued an order stating that all passenger vehicles which are battery-operated (like e-auto-rickshaws, e-taxis, and private electric vehicle buses) or passenger vehicles that are driven on methanol or ethanol fuel, shall be issued permits by the Transport Department without a permit fee.

Registration of EVs plying as passenger transport, like e-auto-rickshaws, e-taxis, and EV buses will now commence in Tamil Nadu. Earlier, permits were not being issued to battery-operated passenger vehicles and passenger vehicles driven on methanol or ethanol fuel.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, had issued a notification in 2018 stating that battery-operated PVs and those driven on methanol or ethanol fuel were exempted from obtaining a permit, with the intention of promoting green vehicles. As the implementing authority, the Transport Commissioner of the Government of Tamil Nadu had pointed out that without the process of registration and issuing of permits, there will be regulation issues and field problems.

At a roundtable organised by Guidance Tamil Nadu on June 16, members of the EV industry had highlighted the issue to the minister for industries TRB Rajaa. “The minister immediately requested the intervention of Chief Minister M K Stalin, who instructed that appropriate orders be issued at the earliest for facilitative regulation to make battery-operated shared passenger vehicles operating on the ground,” said a government statement.

Following this, an order in this regard was issued by the principal secretary of the transport department on June 28. This is likely to facilitate the expansion of EV fleets in Tamil Nadu. “This amendment will enable the government to implement its Electric Vehicle Policy 2023 by accelerating the adoption of EVs in Tamil Nadu. Based on feedback from the industry, we are also working on improving EV charging infra across Tamil Nadu. All these steps are sure to significantly drive up the demand for EV vehicles in the state,” Rajaa said.