Will Sri Lanka raise the import duty on Indian cars and bikes again?
India’s diplomatic stand on Sri Lanka’s human rights violations seems to have cost Indian vehicle manufacturers dearly.
Now that India has again voted against Sri Lanka on the US-sponsored UNHRC resolution, Indian automobile makers fear there might be a similar knee-jerk reaction this time as well.
Last year, Sri Lanka had raised the import duty on cars from 120-291 per cent to 200-350 per cent, from 51-61 per cent to 100 per cent for three-wheelers, and from 61 per cent to 100 per cent for two-wheelers. There was another round of excise duty hike, too, about four-five months ago.
An executive of Dimo Lanka, the exclusive dealer and importer of Tata Motors vehicles in Sri Lanka, concurred the views. "Imports of Tata cars are happening, but ever since the taxes were increased, sales of Tata 207 and the Tata Nano have gone down substantially. Enquiries are still very healthy but when consumers discover the price their enthusiasm goes down,” he said.
Sri Lanka, with a gross domestic product (GDP) increase of 6.3 per cent in the quarter ended December, is one of the promising markets for automobile players. Indian auto labels have a lion’s share of the Sri Lankan automotive market, led by Bajaj Auto with 60 per cent share.
Last year, India had exported vehicles worth $6 billion, out of which automobiles worth $800 million were to Sri Lanka.
- source : business-standard.com(India)
India’s diplomatic stand on Sri Lanka’s human rights violations seems to have cost Indian vehicle manufacturers dearly.
Now that India has again voted against Sri Lanka on the US-sponsored UNHRC resolution, Indian automobile makers fear there might be a similar knee-jerk reaction this time as well.
Last year, Sri Lanka had raised the import duty on cars from 120-291 per cent to 200-350 per cent, from 51-61 per cent to 100 per cent for three-wheelers, and from 61 per cent to 100 per cent for two-wheelers. There was another round of excise duty hike, too, about four-five months ago.
An executive of Dimo Lanka, the exclusive dealer and importer of Tata Motors vehicles in Sri Lanka, concurred the views. "Imports of Tata cars are happening, but ever since the taxes were increased, sales of Tata 207 and the Tata Nano have gone down substantially. Enquiries are still very healthy but when consumers discover the price their enthusiasm goes down,” he said.
Sri Lanka, with a gross domestic product (GDP) increase of 6.3 per cent in the quarter ended December, is one of the promising markets for automobile players. Indian auto labels have a lion’s share of the Sri Lankan automotive market, led by Bajaj Auto with 60 per cent share.
Last year, India had exported vehicles worth $6 billion, out of which automobiles worth $800 million were to Sri Lanka.
- source : business-standard.com(India)
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