New Delhi: Transport minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said Volkswagen AG and Sweden’s Volvo AB have shown interest in supplying vehicles that can run on alternative fuels such as methanol and ethanol. “Volkswagen is ready to supply flex engine for 100 vehicles if ethanol supply is ensured,” Gadkari said. Gadkari said that alternative fuel has huge potential and can cut India’s Rs7 trillion oil import bill. Gadkari had in May said he will urge finance minister Arun Jaitley to bring down GST rate on hybrid vehicles and other automobiles that run on alternative fuels. At present, hybrid vehicles attracts excise duty of 12.5% with an effective overall tax rate of 30.3%.

Source: Mint June 27, 2017 14:15 UTC