Tamil Nadu offers road tax exemption on hybrid vehicles

As per the new policy, the term 'EV' includes plug-in hybrids and strong-hybrid vehicles.

The Tamil Nadu state government has announced its new EV policy. It covers everything from batteries, charging infrastructure and crucially, hybrid vehicles.

As per the new policy, electric vehicles (EVs), which include battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and strong hybrid electric vehicles (SHEV) will receive incentives in the form of road tax, registration and permit fee exemptions.

Depending on the battery capacity, the state will offer incentives of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10 lakh on commercial electric vehicles. IC engine to EV conversions will also be incentivized.

The government will promote Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Salem and Tirunelveli as pilot cities for implementing e-mobility solutions. The state will offer incentives to charging and battery swapping stations and will also revise the power tariff for public charging stations.

The state government aims to create over 48,000 new jobs in the EV value chain. EV projects will be provided employment incentives in the form of reimbursements for the employer’s contribution to the EPF. It will offer financial support to companies who wish to venture into EV manufacturing.

EV projects will be provided 100% electricity tax exemption for a period of 5 years on power purchased from the state power distribution company or generated from captive sources.

As per the new EV policy, the state government will amend building and construction laws to ensure charging infrastructure is integrated at the planning stage itself.

Source: ET