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The Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), on Monday, reached out to the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, seeking utilisation of FAME subsidy for the EV industry. The demand has been pending with the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI).
In its latest communication, the industry body has said that unpaid dues of ₹1,200 crore since the last fiscal to affected original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), an embargo on these companies to list sales on the official National Automotive Board portal, and further notices to recover past paid subsidies have created a crisis for the industry.
“The absolute unreasonable situation has pushed us to seek support from the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry who might understand the business cycle, the production and process of industrial units, the financial cycle and what impact it has on business when the cycle stops,” Ajay Sharma, Secretary General, SMEV, said in the letter.
The letter, seen by businessline, also said that investors across the world are watching this space closely and “it’s not a good message that is going out”.
Dire situation
“Banks and financiers are refusing to extend credit. Vendor payments have been inordinately delayed. Employees across all these companies are insecure and salaries are being deferred or delayed. Dealerships are quickly collapsing,” Sharma said.
He further said that the situation is “dire” and 18 months of financial squeeze, threats to claw back whatever was paid, and “no clarity of when we can restart business are taking a huge toll on these companies”.
Commenting on the latest communication, Sohinder Gill, Director General, SMEV, said, “These are home-grown companies, fuelled by the zeal of ‘Make in India’, ‘Start-Up India’ and financed by Indian money and enterprises. It will be to nobody’s credit if these EV companies fail or are sold for a song to the highest bidder. It will be a black mark against Indian enterprise and the burgeoning e-Mobility plans of the government.”
Last week, SMEV had also written to Niti Aayog saying the implosion of the FAME-2 policy, in a series of detrimental actions since last year, has contaminated the ambitious national e-Mobility charter resulting in a complete regression of its objectives.
“The current state of affairs reflects a corrosive transformation into an elitist programme, neglecting the principles of inclusivity and accessibility,” it had said.
SMEV has also proposed to the government through the Finance Ministry that a 10 per cent Green tax on polluting two-wheelers could offer some balance to the field.
In a letter on June 8, it had also proposed to the Finance Minister “the creation of a ₹3,000-crore Rehabilitation Fund to revive and sustain operations of OEMs which have been badly affected by the recent FAME subsidy blocks.”
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