Proposed Hike In GST Cess On Luxury Cars And SUVs Should Be Deferred, Says M&M
Don’t touch GST rates ahead of the festive season, M&M’s Pawan Goenka says.
The proposed hike in GST cess on SUVs and bigger cars should not be implemented during the festive season, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Managing Director Pawan Goenka said.
Right now we have implemented GST, industry is stabilising, we have grown in past couple of months, festive season is around the corner, we should not touch the rates for time being.Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, M&M
Goenka was speaking on the sidelines of the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) in New Delhi.
The government recently cleared an ordinance to hike the GST compensation cess on a range of cars from mid-size to luxury variants to a maximum of 25 percent from 15 percent earlier. However, the actual quantum of hike in each variety of car would be decided by the GST Council in its next meeting on September 9.
Festive Season Boost
The automaker’s sales are expected to grow 8-10 percent year-on-year during the ongoing festive season, if Goods and Services Tax rates on cars remain the same, company’s President (Automotive Sector) Rajan Wadhera told BloombergQuint.
If (GST) rates remain as the way they are, this festive season we should see good 8-10 percent growth over last year.Rajan Wadhera, President-Automotive Sector, M&M
Speaking on the sidelines of the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) in New Delhi, Wadhera also said that the industry needs a predictable regime, and that the auto companies were facing difficulty to plan business with the government changing GST rates since the rollout of the indirect tax regime.
Investment In Electric Vehicles
The automaker will invest Rs 600 crore this year in its electric vehicle segment in addition to the Rs 500 crore it already invested so far, Goenka said.
Referring to the government’s plan to promote electric vehicles in the country, Goenka said, “What (Union Transport Minister Nitin) Gadkari said is something that is being said in many countries today – that the future is electric.”
(With inputs from PTI)