Delhi Govt Launches New Scheme Of Incentives To Buyers Of Electric Cycles

Delhi government has finally announced its promised incentive scheme for electric cycles to achieve twin objective of pollution free road transport and reduce pressure on the fossil fuel guzzling transport buses. The new scheme was announced on May 26 and shall be applicable for the first 10,000 e-cycles, both passenger and cargo. According to the scheme guidelines, e-cycle buyers will get a purchase incentive of 25 per cent of the price with a cap of maximum Rs 5,500 a piece. An additional incentive of Rs 2,000 will be given to the first 1,000 individual owners of e-cycles. E-cargo cycles will be eligible for a purchase incentive of 33 per cent of the price (not exceeding Rs 15,000 per vehicle). Thus, the scheme should cost the government between Rs 5.5 crores to 15 crores approx depending on the mix that is finally taken.

“The applicable demand incentives shall be available for buyers (individuals and businesses) in the form of reimbursement which will be credited to the accounts of owners by the Transport Department, based on claims made by the buyer through the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) or dealer after the purchase of the e-cycles,” it said.

The application for incentive shall be made through an online platform by the OEM or dealer on behalf of the buyer and shall be credited within seven working days to the bank account of the buyer. The demand incentives shall be payable to individual beneficiaries as well as businesses with a valid GST registration. E-cargo cycles will also be eligible for a scrapping incentive of up to Rs 3000 per e-cycle under the Delhi Electric Vehicle Policy, against scrapping of old ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. The dealer will then present the NOC along with the original RC of the vehicle and the vehicle to be scrapped to an authorized scrapper at the time of scrapping.

The scrapping incentive will be given in case of the ICE vehicle being scrapped through someone authorised by the Transport Department and shall be subject to a matching contribution made by the OEM or dealer at the time of sale of the e-cycle(s). As for the OEMs intending to seek approval of their e-cycles under the policy, they will be required to register themselves with the EV Cell of the Transport Department. The application will be processed within five working days and if found in order, the registration of OEM and eligible e-cycle models will be confirmed. The policy stated that a unique “model code” will be generated for every eligible e-cycle model. The guidelines state that the OEMs shall be responsible to upload production (or dispatched) data for Delhi each month, on the digital portal provided by the Transport Department.