In what comes as a massive relief to the makers of big engined diesel vehicles, Supreme Court has lifted Delhi diesel ban. After 8 odd months of prohibiting the sale of diesel cars with engine displacement of more than 2.0-litre in the NCR, the apex court has now settled for a green cess of 1% (of the ex-showroom price) for the models that were under the purview of this ban.
This 1% green cess needs to be paid as a deposit before registration. This payment is termed as environment protection charge but there is not clarity on how the government plans on spending it.
The Green Cess needs to be paid before registration and OEMs are expected to pass on the burden to the customers.The change in the rule comes shortly after Mercedes-Benz India announced that it was ready to pay the 1% cess in exchange for the removal of the ban. A lawyer representing SIAM stated that most other affected manufacturers are also willing to pay the 1% cess.
The Delhi diesel ban has seriously hampered the prospects of OEMs like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, Mahindra, Toyota, etc., which specialize in vehicles with high displacement diesel engines. Mahindra reacted quickly to the ban by launching 1.99L diesel variants of its Scorpio and XUV500.
Automakers like Mercedes and Mahindra have welcomed SC’s move to lift the diesel ban.Also read – Toyota suffered loss of INR 1,700 due to diesel ban
Mercedes-Benz India and Mahindra & Mahindra have already issued statements welcoming SC’s move to lift the ban. Both automakers are also ready to usher in BS-VI emission standards quickly. Mercedes added that it is ready to upgrade its entire fleet to BS-VI by 2018 provided the fuel quality is improved accordingly.
