Input Tax Credit is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale.

The Bengal Bench of the GST Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has ruled that registered automobile dealers can claim input tax credit (ITC) on demo cars.

In its ruling, the AAR said, “The applicant is entitled to claim input tax credit charged and paid on inward supply of cars which are used for demonstration purpose and supplied further after a specified time period.”

The ruling was in response to an application filed by Landmark Cars East Pvt. Ltd, an authorized dealer of Mercedes-Benz, seeking a clarification on whether it was entitled to claim ITC charged and paid on the inward supply of cars from Mercedes-Benz India, used for demonstration purposes.

Input Tax Credit is the tax that a business pays on a purchase and that it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale. In other words, businesses can reduce their tax liability by claiming credit to the extent of GST paid on purchases.

In the case of sale of demo car, the outward supply would attract the same rate of tax as its inward supply, which is 28% GST, plus cess levied on the sale of cars. However, reimbursement received by the dealer from the manufacturer on loss suffered on sale of demo car would attract 18% GST.

Source: HT Auto

Citroen plans to expand its network, introduce new products and build brand awareness.

Citroen expects India to become its second-largest market after France in the next 5 years. To achieve this, the carmaker plans to expand its network and introduce new products.

Thierry Koskas, Global CEO of Citroen, said, "India is an important market for Citroen, and in a few years, it will become the second biggest market for us after our home market France." Currently, India is "probably in the top 10 markets for Citroen, more towards the 10th rather than upwards," he added.

Koskas stated that if the company introduces new cars with the right level of quality, along with features that young customers want, the brand can grow significantly. He reiterated the need to build brand awareness, for which the company plans to sign up an ambassador to represent Citroen in India.

As part of its network expansion drive, Citroen plans to increase the number of dealerships from 65 to 200 by the end of this year.

Source: ET Auto

Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation recently announced an investment of Rs 300 crore to form a JV with TVS Mobility.

Ashok Leyland has invested Rs 24.95 crore in TVS Trucks and Buses Pvt. Ltd., acquiring a 49.9% stake.

TVS Trucks is a joint venture company of TVS Mobility Pvt. Ltd. and Ashok Leyland, where the former holds a majority stake of 50.1%. It specializes in the automotive dealership business.

Earlier this month, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation announced an investment of Rs 300 crore to form a joint venture with TVS Mobility. Mitsubishi will control a 32% stake in the newly formed JV called TVS Vehicle Mobility Solutions.

TVS Vehicle Mobility Solutions will offer services like new vehicle sales, vehicle-as-a-service models and fleet operating solutions. The company currently operates dealerships of brands like Ashok Leyland, Honda, Mahindra and Renault.

Source: ET Auto

The company will invest Rs 300 crore to acquire a 32% stake in the newly formed JV called TVS Vehicle Mobility Solutions.

Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation has announced a joint venture with TVS Mobility to establish a dealership network across India. The company will invest Rs 300 crore to acquire a 32% stake in the newly formed JV called TVS Vehicle Mobility Solutions.

TVS Vehicle Mobility Solutions will offer a variety of services to its customers, including new vehicle sales, vehicle-as-a-service models and fleet operating solutions. The company currently operates dealerships of brands like Ashok Leyland, Honda, Mahindra and Renault. 

According to R Dinesh, Director of TVS Mobility, Mitsubishi’s investment will help the company scale up its business in India. The business model will have the potential to achieve $2 billion in revenue in the next 3-5 years.

Dinesh also stated that the Vehicle Mobility business will provide innovative and digitally enabled solutions to customers, be it enterprises, corporates or fleet owners. The company will also expand its partnership with vehicle manufacturers to provide integrated solutions across vehicle sales, operating of vehicles and ‘Vehicle-as-a-Service’ (Micromobility) solutions.

Shigeru Wakabayashi, CEO of Automotive and Mobility Group at Mitsubishi Corporation, said, “India has the world’s third-largest market for new automobiles with sales topping five million vehicles in 2023 and expected to grow at 6-7 per cent in the next few years.”

The company has urged investors and the public to exercise caution.

MG Motor India has urged the public to be vigilant against people claiming to offer false business opportunities of appointment as a dealer of MG. 

According to MG, there have been reports of agencies and people offering fraudulent dealership opportunities. The company has urged investors and the public to exercise caution when dealing with such individuals. 

The carmaker stated that any person willingly corresponding with such individuals and agencies in any manner whatsoever, will be doing so at their own risk and that the company cannot be held responsible/liable for any such engagement.

If you encounter such fraudulent or suspicious activity, you can reach out to MG Motor India at 1800-100-6464 or drop an email at pulsehub@mgmotor.co.in

The River Store in JP Nagar, Bangalore, also houses a service centre.

Bangalore-based EV maker, River, has opened its first store in Bangalore.

The River Store is located at No. 594, Ground Floor, Sirinidhi Infinity, 15th Cross Road, 1st Stage, JP Nagar, Bangalore. The facility is spread over 3,400 sq. ft. and also houses a service centre.

According to River, the showroom has been designed to provide customers with a first-hand view of all River offerings, including the Indie electric scooter, accessories and merchandise.

The River Indie was launched in February last year. It is available in two variants: Utility and Lifestyle.

The Indie is equipped with an electric motor that makes 9 BHP and has a peak torque output of 26 Nm. It is powered by a 4 kWh battery pack offering 120 km of range.

Have you bought a car by impulse only to regret later that you have a huge liability? Or, did you hit the bulls eye and the car still meets your needs in the long run?

BHPian wheelspinner recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The habit of Impulse Buying

I'm sure many here would relate. I'm an impulse buyer and often regret my purchase decisions. I've impulse bought gadgets and regret the decision years later when I realise that it is now a burden for me that has no use in my small apartment with very little space. As such, I decided to purposefully delay my car purchase.

My decision about a car purchase

I live in a small city with empty roads and fairly decent transport modes. In short, there was no immediate need for a car except from a dream/aspirational perspective. So I started looking for used cars so as to fulfill this dream as the prices of new ones were eye watering.

Eventually, it turned into a longer delay as I wanted to buy a well kept used car. Unfortunately, every car I found was overpriced and was in need of major repairs. The seemingly perfect car I occassionally found got sold by the time I could reach the owner/dealer.

The other option was to impulse buy a new car out of the showroom. However, each time I walked by car showrooms I held my horses. For me, a car isn't really a need of the hour as I can avail cheaper modes of transport. It's more of a fancy and I didn't want to impulse buy something only to regret later.

I've mostly seen that people in my city (a tier 2 city in India) tend to impulse buy cars only to leave them standing in their garages. Thereafter, they use their bikes or public transport more often due to increasing fuel prices. What about your locality/city?

What about you?

Have you bought a car by impulse only to regret later that you have a huge liability?

Or, did you hit the bulls eye and the car still meets your needs in the long run?

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

I am a quick decision maker and usually decide on the car I'd like to buy in advance (sometimes, years in advance). I was very sure about the 1st-gen City Vtec, Civic, 530d etc. long before I actually bought them.

So in that sense, most car purchases have been planned.

On the other hand, the Thar was definitely an impulsive buy. I always loved the Thar, but had another Jeep, so there was no hurry. Late last year though, it went from merely thinking about the Thar to paying for it in a week. Total impulse buy and no regrets at all. It has given us more smiles per mile than any other car I've owned.

Here's what BHPian heydj had to say on the matter:

My current car purchase is a mix of need / impulse and sheer stupidity.

I needed to buy a car as I love going for drives so thought of buying Thar Petrol AT, this would have been a perfect buy for my limited weekend needs.

However I fell into the trap of asking too many people their views and before long my own view got trampled by myself and I ended up buying Tucson Diesel AT.

Now there again I would have been perfectly fine with Tucson Petrol AT but again fell into the trap of asking people for views and ended up with Tucson Diesel AT.

However silver lining in all this is that I have fantastic car i.e. Tucson Diesel AT. Every time I drive it I end up with a smile. Its just that I would have been perfectly happy with Thar Petrol AT and every time I sit in friends Thar I am filled with regret.

So my limited need turned into impulse buy purely because of my own stupidity of not sticking to my first decision. Hopefully will get to buy Thar soon and put this matter to rest.

Here's what BHPian S.MJet had to say on the matter:

Looking at my last two cars I fall in impulse buyer category.

Fiat Punto in 2012 and the current ride Seltos 2019. In both cases I fell for the design, test drove both, found nothing off and got them home. In both cases there was no immediate need of a new car.

Had/have some disappointments with both them, Service availably of Punto and poor/harsh ride & safety rating of Seltos.

Here's what BHPian Sahil had to say on the matter:

This may sound like an oxymoron but I am ONLY impulsive when it's a steal deal. Whether new or used.

• If I have to quantify "steal deal":
• For new car it needs to be 20% + off ex-showroom price.
• For used car it has to be sparingly used less than 3 years old and available at half it's current new car price. Could also be looked at as getting a used higher segment model for the price of a lower segment model when new. For example: Getting a 7 series used for the price of a brand new 5Here' series.

My value side (head) does not let my impulsive side (heart) cross its line. But if the head’s criteria are met then the heart will follow promptly and impulsively.

Here's what BHPian YashodhanGuru had to say on the matter:

One fine rainy day (8th August) 2023 while I was seeing a youtube video of the Tiago EV, my father peeked at the screen and asked me a question - " Gaadi chaan ahe! Kiti chi aahe?" Which for those who don't understand Marathi means - The car looks good! How much does it cost?

I casually give him the answer and the next thing I remember is him asking me to arrange for a test drive.

I kid you not, the sales person was at our door within 15 minutes and after the test drive my father handed over the cheque to the sales person who was stunned.

All this happened in a space of 45 minutes. Took delivery of the car on 31st August

Here's what BHPian MotorDev had to say on the matter:

Interesting thread . My dad did it way back in 2014. I vividly remember that we were passing by a Honda showroom in our Ford Ikon, and my dad, without even sitting inside the 4th-gen City, decided to book it! He didn't even take a test drive. He loved the Red City and booked it by paying 50,000 rupees at that time. He never regretted his decision and took care of the car like it was his baby

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I think Harley-Davidson India did a shoddy job on the motorcycle's electronics and connectivity side - implementation as well as testing.

BHPian rustyg recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

2 weeks on and the bad experience continues with Harley and one of its dealers (basically a Hero dealer, not even trying to be an HD dealer by actions).

Dealer

• 2 weeks passed and no contact or response on issues raised earlier from the dealership.
• No update on the Connect issue / accessories, not even a call.
• Registration which was promised in 4 days - before making the payment, is still going 19 days on since payment. On calling the Hero sales person (don't have the number for the Primea showroom as it was never shared), on this and other issues- I am straight away told to contact their GM - if I may.

Harley Davidson India and Vehicle

• I called HD customer care 2 times in the last 10 days, they asked me to send mail and mentioned that they would raise a concern with the dealer to higher management. Nothing yet and they even cut the phone call this evening when I was not taking excuses being made.
• No update on the HD connect issue, I was today asked to contact another dealer to discuss this- I seriously don't know the reason to contact a dealer who didn't sell it to me. They even declined to arrange the call.
• Bike- I skidded in the parking at 10 KMPH. These are sports + performance tubeless tyres with fewer threads.
• According to me, the placement is cruising, easygoing, responsible biking and not high-speed sport profile. I think it mismatches the bike, but maybe it's just me and hope the product managers have done the target segment needs and riding habits analysis. These are different profiles of tyres and suggest to be careful on low friction surfaces if there is any water.
• Bike has a little bigger turning radius and comes with a wider handlebar. I would prefer a little smaller one and if it was - it would make it a great city traffic manoeuvring bike. Hope there would be a reason for bigger handles for the weight and width of the tank.
• The sound is growing much sweeter and awesome with every 10 KMs.

If only they had chosen a decent professional dealer for me to pick the vehicle and not rushed into taking out the bike with no sign of accessories being available yet and problems being acknowledged or resolved.

Update

More on the issues and points I mentioned about the dealership

Dealership issues

Post my mail to HD and / or the posts here, I heard from the MD of the dealership. (I am withholding the name as I am not sure if I should name him)

He acknowledged all issues and took immediate steps for:

• RSA-  He was surprised by sales messaging on RSA being sold as mandatory. Acknowledged and refunded the amount within an hour of the call.
• Registration and Number Plate - on hearing about the problem and delay - Followed up and got the number plate delivered on the same day and fitted at my place. Service to fit at home was an unheard-of thing. Great.
• Contact - Acknowledged and provided his own contact details and has been responsive to all my messages and calls since then.

Bike Issues

• Connect and App - There is an acknowledgement from HD for this issue with iOS. No ETA is given. Hopefully, a firmware upgrade can be expected by the end of the year. I am still waiting for a response to my mail from HD or any call from them.
• Heating problem - I have been promised to do a detailed check during the next service in 10-12 days, to see if there is more heating than other bikes. However, looking at the vlog in the above thread it seems the issue is in lower gears with all bikes. Let's see what is found.
• No information on accessories etc - This is for anyone waiting for it. The back rest is expected in a few days while merchandise from HD is expected by Dec end. I think this is true for all dealerships. There is no timeline or info for mud flaps etc for the splashing issue.
• Display issue - Those are genuine issues and the delay in updating of fuel level or incorrect info all of a sudden is there. I think Harley did a shoddy job on the electronics and connectivity side - implementation as well as testing. I don't mind that for a primarily mechanical item- but I do have a problem with making it as a point of differentiation between variants and charging for that but not taking enough pains to walk the mile.

All in all, so far the dealer has attempted and fixed the easy things. The reason for my long post is when I have named anyone for insufficient / lack of service - I need to acknowledge any effort to fix that. And I have seen genuine attempts in the last 2 days. Let's see how it goes from here but it's Harley's turn to fix bigger issues.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Tata’s first showroom dedicated to its EV lineup is located at Sector 14 and Sohna Road, Gurgaon.

Tata Motors has inaugurated its first EV-only showrooms in Delhi-NCR. It will be open to the public in the new year.

Tata’s first two showrooms dedicated to its EV lineup have been set up at Sector 14 and Sohna Road, Gurgaon. They will be inaugurated on January 7, 2024. The carmaker plans to have 2-3 outlets in cities with higher EV adoption in the next 12-18 months. These include Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

Tata’s EV-only showrooms are said to be constructed with the environment in mind. The company has used recycled materials and unfired clay bricks in the construction. There are LED lights with sensors, and the design allows natural light to come through.

Tata Motors plans to organise yoga sessions and other events at these facilities. The company will partner with vendors looking to sell environment-friendly products. Customers will also be able to drop off recyclable waste.

Tata currently offers a wide range of electric vehicles, including the Tiago.ev, Tigor.ev and the Nexon.ev. The carmaker also plans to launch electric versions of the Punch and Harrier. The Curvv EV is also expected to be launched in the near future.

Kia Connect showed the car had taken several trips, which included a brief halt at a local liquor store.

An incident involving dealership employees taking a customer's car for a joyride has surfaced in the media. As per the report, a Kia Seltos that had come in for repairs at M/s Sun Global - an authorized dealership in Bhopal, was taken out for an entire night by an employee.

The antics of the staff at the service station came to light when the owner received a notification via Kia Connect. The live tracking feature showed the car had taken several trips, which included a brief halt at a local liquor store. 

The data showed that the Seltos was driven at speeds exceeding 100 km/h. It also revealed that the car was left idling for 28 minutes over a 1 km distance, which suggests that the dealership employees may have parked it with the AC running.

The owner reached out to Kia Care with the evidence, who regretted the inconvenience and promised necessary action. Following an enquiry, the service advisor was found to be the culprit and was promptly discharged from his duties by the dealership.

Source: Rushlane