India’s finance ministry is not considering any duty waivers for U.S. automaker Tesla Inc, Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra told Reuters on Thursday. This report comes nearly a month after Tesla CEO Elon Musk met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York.
Previous discussions between the popular US automaker and the Indian government centered on obtaining customs duty exemptions for the import of its electric vehicles, a request that was ultimately denied by India. “Any duty waiver for Tesla is not under active consideration of the Department of Revenue, as of now,” Malhotra said on Thursday.
American electric car maker Tesla has gained attention as it expresses interest in launching EVs in India. Following discussions with the government on policies and duty, the company is now engaging with relevant ministries to establish manufacturing facilities.
According to reports, Tesla plans to build a factory producing over 500,000 electric cars annually. If successful, the Elon Musk-owned company aims to introduce an entry-level EV starting at Rs 20 lakh.
Moreover, Tesla intends to utilize India as an export hub for delivering EVs to the Indo-Pacific region, leveraging its existing presence in China. Last month in New York, Musk said he is confident Tesla will be in India and will do so as soon as humanly possible.
“I would like to thank the Prime Minister for his support. Hopefully, we will be able to announce something in the not-so-distant future,” he said after meeting Modi. “We don’t want to jump the gun on an announcement, but there will be a significant investment relationship with India in the future,” he added.
(With agency inuputs)
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