House OKs bill seeking zero tariff on e-vehicles on 2nd reading

The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on second reading the bill seeking to exempt imported electric vehicles from tariffs in a bid to encourage motorists to switch to sustainable transportation.

House Bill No. 10960 was approved through viva-voce voting.

If enacted into law, the House bill will amend Republic Act No. 11697, or the “Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act”  which will define EVs as any “two-wheeled, three-wheeled, or four-wheeled vehicle, or such other vehicles with at least one electric drive for vehicle propulsion.”

Further, the importation of fully built EVs shall be subject to a 0% tariff rate for a period of five years.

According to Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta Party-list Rep. Margarita Nograles, who sponsored the measure before the House plenary, said that the current tariff rate stands at 30% for passenger cars and 20% for commercial vehicles.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raoul Manuel asked what will be the expected gains despite the zero tariff in the coming years, Nograles replied: “Although it will be a loss in the next five years at mawawalan nga ng tariff ang pagpasok, this will create healthy competition in the market, it will also generate new jobs, especially we are gearing towards the increase of the manufacturing.”

“Kapag tumaas ang demand, marami ang bibili, mas iikot din ang pera within the economy (If the demand rises, more people will buy, the money will circulate within the economy) . There will be loss, but there will be gains in terms of the industry, in terms of the demand, in terms of the economy also,” she said.

Citing data from the Land Transportation Office, Nograles said there are so far 17,519 registered EVs, including buses and motorcycles.

She added that the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines estimates that this number could rise to 6.6 million by 2030.

The Department of Trade and Industry earlier said that the planned executive order setting up an incentives scheme for the EVs will likely be issued by the end of the year. — BAP, GMA Integrated News