Indian authorities have dismissed the claims that the government is planning to waive off import duty for Elon Musk-led Tesla. The announcement comes amid the reports of Tesla’s plan to erect a factory in India with annual production capacity of half million electric vehicles.
While India remains keen on Tesla setting up a manufacturing plant in India, the company had earlier stated that it will first import the cars in order to test the strength of demand in India.
“Any duty waiver for Tesla is not under active consideration of the Development of Revenue, as of now,” Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra informed Reuters on Thursday.
The electric carmakers plan to enter Indian market stalled last year as the government did not agree on lowering the import duty, which accounts for almost 100%, when it comes to electric vehicles. This year, the company once again held discussion with the officials about the incentives being offered by the government for its cars and batteries manufacturers.
Last month, Tesla founder and CEO, Musk had stated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was pushing him to make a significant investment in India. He had added that such an announcement was expected soon.