Budget 2021: Auto industry demands rationalisation of tax, scrappage policy

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is getting ready to present her third Union Budget on February 1, the auto industry hopes it will assist them in recovering from the pandemic-induced economic shock.

The Indian auto industry which has just started to witnessing some recovery after months of low demand, first due to the Covid-19 lockdowns and then because of the pandemic-triggered economic crisis, wants rationalisation of tax structure and scrappage policy.

Talking to ANI, Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, Daimler India, said the tax on the automobile sector is very high, and there is a need to bring it down.

"We understand that government is hard-pressed on the revenues side. We also feel that that in the mid to long term government is okay at rationalising the tax structure. Currently, most cars, commercial vehicles and two-wheelers fall in the bracket of 28 per cent. Tax on the automobile sector is very high. It needs to be brought down. The Scrappage policy is the need of the hour. The government should announce this as early as possible. It will generate a lot of demand," said Arya.

As per official data, not a single car was sold last year in April when the country was in lockdown, which nearly broke the backbone of the automobile sector. It was only in the festive months of October and November when the industry finally saw some positive growth in sales.

Talking to ANI, Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO, Daimler India, said the tax on the automobile sector is very high, and there is a need to bring it down.

Vivek Chaand Sehgal, Chairman, Motherson Group, hoped that the Finance Minister will come with some kind of relief for the industry to recover.

"Our economy is just recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government had taken a lot of measures to minimise the impact on businesses from the pandemic. Hope that the Finance Minister will come with some kind of relief so that industry can recover," Sehgal stated.

According to Harsha Kadam, CEO Schaeffler India and president Industrial Business, the budget is an opportunity to bring in measures that can help to boost sustainable growth for the industry.

"The auto components industry will also see more investments if further clarity is provided on the Postal Life Insurance (PLI) scheme announced in 2020. Implementation of the scrappage policy will also improve sales that will benefit the industry and environment," Kadam said.

"From an overall manufacturing industry perspective, stabilisation of raw material prices is of importance to the industry, promoting finished good exports will, in turn, increase foreign exchange market reserve and be a positive step. The industry also requires some relief in custom duties especially for raw materials and other manufacturing elements," he added.