WB announces exemption in additional tax including registration fee for EV and CNG vehicles

Digital Desk: The West Bengal government announced exemption of registration fees, motor vehicles and additional taxes for two and four-wheeled electric vehicles and all CNG-operated vehicles from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024, a government official said.

According to him, this will decrease the road pricing of numerous types of green energy-operated vehicles.

The order signed by the transport department secretary, Rajesh Sinha, stated that the financial incentive would be in the form of an extension of tax validity for the precise number of days for which tax was paid between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2024, for vehicles registered between April 1, 2022, and the date of issuance of the notification on May 25.

The order exempts two and four-wheeled battery-operated electric vehicles, as well as all categories of CNG-operated vehicles, from motor vehicle and additional taxes, as well as registration fees, from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024, as per the state finance minister's budget announcement for 2022-23.

"It is felt necessary to give some kind of financial relief/exemption to incentivise investment in battery-operated electric vehicles and also to incentivise a reduction in carbon footprint and to reduce dependence on petrol/diesel," the order read.

It should be noted that industry observers believe that the exemption of registration fees and motor vehicle taxes will boost demand for clean energy vehicles.