ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik AminAslam on Thursday said that introducing modern and environmental-friendlytransport system through electric vehicles was of unprecedented importanceto efforts for coping with Pakistan’s air pollution woes and making citiesclean and green under Imran Khan’s world-acclaimed green agenda.
“Introducing electric vehicles in the country’s ailing transport system arepivotal for modernising it and reduce the carbon emissions that contributeto climate change and smog, improving public health and reducing ecologicaldamage,” he highlighted while chairing a high-level meeting of theInter-Ministerial Oversight Committee on National Electric Vehicles Policy(NEVP) held at the Climate Change Ministry.
He told the participants from ministries of energy, commerce and automobilemanufacturing organisations that while the government of Prime MinisterImran Khan introduced the National Electric Vehicle Policy (NEVP), all thegovernment and non-governmental stakeholders must work hand-in-hand to meetthe electric vehicle policy targets.
In the policy, it approved in November 2019 that the government set atarget to bring half a million electric motorcycles and rickshaws, alongwith more than 100,000 electric cars, buses and trucks, into thetransportation system in the next five years. “By 2030 under the policy,the government wants to have about one-third of the vehicles running onelectrical energy,” he said.
“Indeed, the move to electric vehicles is a win-win initiative for allstakeholders, the public and environment, he said, adding that transportsector was a major source of environmental pollution and cause of globalclimate crisis. To solve these issues, there was dire need for making thevehicles on roads as clean as possible, he said.
He said that planet-warming carbon emissions from cars and trucks were notonly bad for the planet, they’re bad for health. Because, air pollutantsfrom gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles cause asthma, bronchitis,cancer, and premature death, he said. He said that the long-term healthimpacts of localized air pollution last a lifetime, with effects borne outin asthma attacks, lung damage, and heart conditions.
The participants from automobile sector apprised the PM’s aide of variousdifficulties, which hamper full-fledged move towards transformation of thecountry’s ailing transport sector including lack of support from relevantministries for introducing more efficient battery charging system andsetting up infrastructure.
They apprised the aide about the registration-related issues thatautomobile and vehicle battery manufacturing companies and end users aregrappled with myriad issues from the excise and taxation departments inregistering electric vehicles, as there are many stakeholders involved inthe registration process and that registration is still done on the basisof the equivalent ‘cc’ in internal combustion engine-based vehicles, whichincurs high registration cost.
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He said that this discourages prospective buyers from owning an electricvehicles. Also, the relaxation in registration cost and token tax offeredby the NEVP has not been implemented by many provinces, they said. Talkingabout the taxation-related issues, the automobile industries’representatives told the special assistant that NEVP authorizes import ofelectric vehicles specific parts and components at one percent custom dutyand their sale at one percent % GST.
However, companies are experiencing challenges in interpretation of rulesand regulations by FBR’s Customs and Inland Revenue Department dictatingimport of electric vehicles specific parts and components. The industryrepresentatives told Amin Aslam that despite repeated requests andreminders, the GST on charging stations has not brought down from 17percent.
Charging stations are hardly profitable from business perspective and somuch so even at one percent GST. However, 17 percent GST would onlydiscourage investment by the private sector in developing the requiredelectric vehicles charging infrastructure in the country, which cancritically impact the electric vehicles penetration targets set in thepolicy.
Amin Aslam assured the private sector of his fullest support in addressingthese issues by involving all relevant government organisations includingministries to provide enabling environment for pushing up use of electricvehicle as a part of the incumbent government’s vision for clean and greenPakistan.
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