New Delhi: With car prices all set to go up from Rs 2,000 on mass market vehicles to over Rs 1 lakh on big diesel SUVs and sedans due to levy of ‘infrastructure cess’ of up to 4 per cent, industry players are seeing red over the move.
Singling out diesel vehicles, Mr Jaitley decided to impose 2.5 per cent cess on diesel vehicles of length not exceeding 4 metre and engine capacity not exceeding 1,500 cc, while higher engine capacity and SUVs and bigger sedans were slapped a cess of 4 per cent on the value of the car.
These are over and above a cess of 1 per cent on petrol/ LPG/CNG driven vehicles of length not exceeding 4 metre and engine capacity not exceeding 1,200cc.
Reacting to the proposals, Maruti Suzuki chairperson R.C. Bhargava said: “Obviously it will lead to rise in prices. It came as a surprise for us as we were not expecting such a cess.”
According to industry estimates, the increase in prices could range from Rs 2,500 on entry level small cars such as Maruti Alto or Tata Nano and can go over a lakh of rupees on high-end vehicles which are priced above Rs 30 lakh.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted: “In summary, despite our disappointment on the tax on cars, I see no reason for the mayhem in the market.”
