Government not considering more incentives for electrification, to start using electric vehicles, including hybrids, for its fleet
The government is said to be refining steps to increase the number of electric cars (EVs), including hybrids, for official vehicle use. According to Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Liew Chin Tong, the matter is being considered by the Ministry of Finance. Berita Harian report.
This is in line with the announcement made last August by the previous government, which stated that the government would started switching to electric cars for its fleet starting in 2023.
He added that MITI has also made a number of proposals to improve the adoption of electric vehicles and accelerate the development of electrification in the country. “”MITI has proposed that personal income tax relief on the registration of charging equipment or the installation of EV chargers will be included in the 2023 Budget,” he told Dewan Rakyat.
He added that a strategic framework for the development and planning of EV chargers in the country is also being developed. Liew was answering a question from Jimmy Puah Wee Tse (PH-Tebrau), who asked about MITI’s policy to encourage electric vehicle use and the state of electrification efforts. “So far, the total number of EV and hybrid units available is 21,659 units and 902 charging points,” he said.
Currently, electric vehicles imported complete units (CBUs) are exempt from import tax and excise tax until December 31, 2024while domestically assembled electric vehicles (CKD) are exempt from excise and sales tax until December 31, 2025. In addition, the parts used to make them are exempt from import duties and all electric vehicles are also exempt from the road tax until the following date.
It was mentioned last month that more EV deals was set to be included in the revised 2023 Budget, which will be presented to Parliament later this week. This was reiterated last week by Minister of International Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz. He said: “Many EV-related incentives are expected to be announced in the revised Budget 2023, which will be presented on 24 February at Dewan Rakyat.
