BOI: Zero tariffs for e-vehicles to take effect next year

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 2) - The government will remove tariffs on electric vehicles (EVs) beginning next year to spur demand, an official of the Board of Investments (BOI) told CNN Philippines on Friday.

"Next year of course will be the start of the implementation of this tariff removal," said BOI Industry Development Services Executive Director Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa in an interview with The Exchange.

"So, we're expecting that e-vehicles coming into the country will be able to already create that demand…so that we can already develop the infrastructure for that," she added.

The executive order that will cut tariffs to 0% for five years is now awaiting President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s signature. Current import duties range from 5% to 30%.

The EVs that would be covered include passenger cars, buses, mini-buses, vans, trucks, motorcycles, tricycles, scooters, and bicycles.

Most of the EVs in the country are tricycles used for public transportation, according to Dichosa.

Once the zero-tariff policy is implemented, Dichosa said local production of EVs could expand and "provide more opportunities for business and even for employment for Filipinos."

"But more importantly, in creating this demand for electric vehicles, we would also like to develop the opportunities for parts and components manufacturing in the country, particularly the batteries," she added.

Meanwhile, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said it has been anticipating the tariff cut, along with developers and investors of the country's EV technology.

"One of the constraints that we're looking at…that's restraining the growth of the industry is the cost of the units. So, if this passes through, then that's one hurdle that's already been met," Enrico Paringit, Executive Director of DOST's Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development, told CNN Philippines' The Final Word.