TG govt scraps road tax, registration fee on EVs

Hyderabad: The Telangana government has decided to do away with the road tax and registration fees on the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) in the state.

In fact, electric vehicles are exempt from road tax in most states in India but the previous BRS government on August 1, 2023, had imposed road tax on EVs which ranged between 11% and 15% which is higher than the road tax for traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar on Sunday announced that the state government has decided to change the policy and provide 100 per cent exemption from road tax and registration fees on the purchase of electric vehicles (EVs) from Monday.

The minister said that this aims to make EVs more affordable and give a boost to the purchase of EVs. Announcing the Telangana Electric Vehicle & Energy Storage Policy 2020-2030 on Sunday, the minister said the government also proposes to implement infrastructure upgrades, such as increasing the number of charging stations and providing incentives to manufacturers.

In a bid to reduce pollution levels in the state, the minister said his government will introduce more electric buses in the twin cities. “Our goal is to prevent Hyderabad from becoming as polluted as Delhi,” he said. He said all those who propose to buy new vehicles should opt for EVs.

He said the exemptions announced by the government are applicable to electric 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers, commercial passenger vehicles such as taxi, tourist cabs, cars, auto-rickshaws, goods carriers and tractors.

The EV policy also covers electric buses for the initial two years, up to December 31, 2026. Electric buses operated by the Telangana State Road Transport Corporation are fully exempt from road tax and registration fees for their lifetime.

Taking significant steps towards reducing air pollution, the government has decided to introduce 3,000 electric buses in Hyderabad, replacing the existing diesel vehicles. Moreover, buses owned by any industry for the purpose of transporting their employees are also exempted. Only condition is that they should not be used for commercial purposes.