India's auto duty offer under UK FTA linked to engine, vehicle price quotas

India's nuanced auto duty offer to UK under the FTA includes quotas and tiered reductions based on engine capacity and vehicle prices, aiming to protect sensitive domestic sectors

India's duty concession offer for the auto sector under the free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK is "very nuanced" with relaxations and quotas linked to engine capacity and vehicle prices, an official said.

India has included adequate safeguards in the agreement with the UK to protect its sensitive sectors and in the automobile segment, the import duty will be reduced over 10-15 years, the official said.

"The duty cut and quota depends on engine capacity and price of vehicles. A lot of nuances are there in the auto sector. India's offer to the UK is very nuanced," the official added.

India and the UK, on May 6, announced the conclusion of negotiations for the trade pact that will lower tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports and would make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket.

The aim is to double the two-way commerce by 2030 from the present USD 60 billion.

Tariffs on automotive imports will be reduced from over 100 per cent to 10 per cent under quotas on both sides, benefiting companies such as Tata-JLR.

Tata Motors Group CFO PB Balaji has earlier said the agreement augurs well to keep driving JLR's performance in India as it would benefit future cars and enable customers to access global cars and global prices much faster.

On the other hand, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have termed the FTA a positive development while noting that it would not have much bearing on the prices of luxury cars in the country.