Hindustan Motors (HM) managing director, Uttam Bose today said that hike in excise duty, proposed in the Union Budget, on SUVs from 27% to 30%, had come as an “unexpected blow”.
“The auto industry has been the worst affected by the ongoing economic slowdown. The current fiscal has registered virtually no growth in the car segment. No wonder, hike in excise duty on SUVs from 27 % to 30% has come as an unexpected blow. The last budget too had witnessed excise on SUVs going up from 22 % to 27 %”, Bose said in a statement.
He said that the auto industry was expecting reduction in excise across all vehicle segments to combat the current crisis.
The 10-year Auto Mission Plan has also been talking of a favourable excise regime for the industry. Notably, cut in excise duty from 12 % to 8 % had helped the auto industry in somehow bearing the brunt of the 2009 downturn.
“Nothing of the kind has happened this time. Thankfully, the excise hike is limited to SUVs”, he said.
However, he said that the Finance Minister had given hope to the auto industry by allocating Rs 14,873 crore to Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) “which will lead to growth in public transport”.
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