No special Policy For Tesla In India; Can Seek Incentives Under Existing Schemes: Govt Official

The government so far is not looking to frame a separate policy for providing incentives to US-based electric car maker Tesla, and the company can apply to avail support measures under existing schemes like PLI for auto and advanced chemistry cells, a government official has said, according to PTI.

The government has already rolled out the production-linked incentives schemes (PLI) for advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery storage with an outlay of Rs 18,100 crore and Rs 26,058 crore PLI scheme for auto, auto-components and drone industries, PTI reports.

"We have told Tesla that the policies, which are already there for all, they can also apply under that PLI. They are welcome. Generally, the policy will be the same for all. For a single company, the government may not like to make separate policies. So far, there is no plan to give special treatment," the official said.

Representatives of Tesla's biggest supplier of batteries Panasonic have met "us and they have stated that they want to make batteries. We have suggested them to apply under PLI ACC batteries", the official added.

The government last week announced the re-bidding of production-linked incentives for 20 GWh advanced chemistry cell manufacturing. The Ministry of Heavy Industries is holding a stakeholder consultation with industry representatives on July 24 for their inputs and suggestions before the start of the re-bidding process of the remaining 20 GWh capacity, PTI reports.

The representatives of Tesla visited the country last month to meet officials of various ministries, including the Commerce and Industry Ministry.

In 2021, the US-based electric car maker demanded a reduction in import duties on electric vehicles (EVs) in India.

According to PTI, At present, cars imported as completely built units (CBUs) attract customs duty ranging from 60 per cent to 100 per cent, depending on engine size and cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value less or above USD 40,000.