SIAM Opposes Proposed Hike In Vehicle Registration Fees

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has raised concerns over the recently draft notification to increase registration charges on vehicls. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRT&H) recently proposed to hike registration charges by 10 to 20 times, depending on the vehicle category from the current charges. The proposal comes at a time when the Indian auto industry is reeling through crisis with sales witnessing a major de-growth and automakers struggling to clear inventories. SIAM say that the proposed hike will further aggravate the de-growth in the auto industry.

Speaking on the proposed registration fee hike, Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM said, "Such increase in the Registration Charges of new vehicles would further aggravate the market condition negatively."

Also Read: Government Proposes Hike In Registration Charges For New Vehicles

As per the MoRT&H's proposed notification, new medium goods and passenger vehicles will attract a registration fee of Rs. 20,000 instead of current Rs. 1000. A new truck or a bus will be registered at a fee of Rs. 20,000 instead of the current charges of Rs. 1500. Similarly, two-wheelers will attract a registration fee of Rs. 1000, a massive increase from the current fee of Rs. 50; while charges to register a new car is proposed to be Rs. 5000, up from Rs. 600 at present. Renewing a 15 year old vehicle will cost Rs. 10,000, while registration charges for imported cars will go up to Rs. 20,000 from the current Rs. 2500.

The auto industry has been struggling to improve sales amidst a poor buying sentiment, general elections, and the upcoming BS6 emission norms that has seen major investments from automakers - both four wheeler and two-wheeler. The industry was hoping to receive some respite in the Union Budget 2019 with the reduced GST rates from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. However, there were no such announcements. Instead, the budget proposed a reduction in the GST rates from 12 per cent to five per cent on electric vehicles, which was approvated by the GST Council earlier this month.

Also Read: GST Council Trims Rate On Electric Vehicles, Chargers To 5 Per Cent

While the hike in vehicle registration fees is intended to discourage purchase of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the automakers argue that there have been no concrete steps to stabilise the market before moving forward. This is the ninth consecutive month for the auto industry to see register a de-growth in the country. SIAM suggests that instead of hiking registration charges for new vehicles, the Indian government should first look at implementing various measures as suggested by SIAM to bring back growth.