BS-III Inventory Will Be Sold In Six To Seven Months, Automakers Tell Supreme Court
The apex court will deliver its verdict in the case on March 29.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its order on whether to allow sale of vehicles compliant with Bharat Stage-III (BS-III) emission norms beyond March 31. The apex court will pass its verdict on Wednesday.
Saddled with high inventories of BS-III compliant vehicles, automakers have objected to an October 2016 order of the apex court-appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA). It seeks implementation of a government notification to switch to new emission standards – Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) –from April 1. Bajaj Auto Ltd. is the only automobile company to have backed the EPCA’s decision.
The 2015 notification of the road transport and highways ministry made it mandatory for automakers to switch to BS-IV norms from April 1, but didn’t say whether the sale of BS-III inventory would be allowed.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the counsel for Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said: “We also have a stake in BS-IV. We are not resisting BS-IV. We have invested around Rs 25,000 crore for this change.”
Bulk of the BS-III inventory will be sold in six to seven months, he said, adding that “if the sale is banned, we will have to make distress sales or destroy the vehicles. This is an ambush against us.” Singhvi said there will be less than 0.1 percent impact on pollution levels if the companies are allowed to sell the inventory.
Hero Moto Corp Ltd.’s counsel KK Venugopal said the two-wheeler maker will suffer losses of around Rs 1,600 crore if the sale or registration of BS-III vehicles is banned.
Tata Motors Ltd. said the yardstick in the government notification was the date of manufacture. SIAM informed the court that Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has been manufacturing only BS-IV-compliant vehicles since 2010. The company produces around 14 lakh vehicles a year.
The government had informed the Supreme Court that it supported sale of BS-III compliant vehicles after March 31. Solicitor General of India Ranjit Kumar said on Monday that the intention was to stop manufacturing BS-III vehicles beyond the deadline.