India can become the hub of car testing, central government removed 252 percent customs duty

India may soon become the hub of car testing. The Central Government has removed the customs duty of 252 percent on vehicles imported for crash testing in the country. This is likely to strengthen India’s position in the global business of car testing. Earlier, a foreign car manufacturer had to pay a customs duty of 252 per cent on sending its vehicle to India for safety testing as per international standards.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the budget to reduce customs duty on car testing to zero from April 1. Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said, “Customs duty on import of vehicles for testing was very high. It was 252 per cent on the declared value of the vehicle. It included basic import duty, freight and insurance charges. This made it difficult for car testing agencies It became difficult for foreign companies to compete in this business. He said that only five countries in the world have car safety test facilities of international standards. India has now become a Global Car Testing Center along with Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and UK.

Opportunities abound for India in global car safety testing. Many countries like South Korea, Iran and Malaysia have shown interest in car testing. The automobile sector accounts for 7.1 percent of the country’s total GDP and about 49 percent of the manufacturing GDP. By the end of 2021, about 3.7 crore people had got direct and indirect employment in this sector. EV Tata Motors is the largest company in the segment. At the end of last year, Tata Motors had achieved the milestone of delivering 50,000 electric cars.

EV sales are increasing rapidly in the country. Center to reduce carbon emissions and reduce fuel imports Government has taken measures to promote EVs. Many state governments are also giving subsidies to people on the purchase of electric vehicles. In the recently presented Economic Survey, it was told that the automotive industry can play an important role in moving towards green energy. The country’s EV market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 49 percent between 2022 and 2030.