Hybrid cars should attract lower duty than petrol-diesel cars: DPIIT to Ministry of Heavy Industries

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 11 : The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh called for tax rationalisation in hybrid cars by reducing the duty structure on them on Thursday.
Writing to the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Singh proposed lower duty on hybrid cars in comparison to that of petrol-diesel-run cars.
Notably, both hybrid and petrol-diesel-run cars attract 43 duty.
"We have written to the Heavy Industry Ministry (saying) that fully electric vehicles attract five per cent duty. About 43 per cent duty is levied on petrol and diesel vehicles including cess. What we are saying is that hybrid cars should not be subject to the same duty as petrol and diesel," DPIIT secretary told ANI.
"It may not be as low as electric cars, but the duty on it should be slightly less," he said.
Reducing duty on hybrid cars will incentivize car buyers to go for such dual-fueled cars.
He contended that hybrid vehicles may not be given as much concession as fully electric vehicles, but the ministry should at least consider giving a little concession as compared to petrol-diesel vehicles.
A hybrid car uses more than one means of energy, combining a petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor, and the two systems work with each other to move the vehicle. This allows the car to burn less gasoline, achieving better fuel efficiency than a traditional engine that solely uses fuel.