The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that e-motorcycles may probably get their much-awaited tax break as the executive issuance that gives incentives to Electric Vehicles (EVs) is up for review nine months from now.
This, as Executive Order No. 12 series of 2023 – the issuance that modifies the tariff rate for EVs – was uploaded to the Official Gazette last January 19 and became effective on February 20, making it available for mandatory review starting February 21, 2024.
Under the EO, different types of EVs and their components have received tax breaks, with the exclusion of e-motorcycles which are still subject to a 30-percent tariff rate.
According to DTI, the agency initially endorsed a version of the EO where e-motorcycles are included in the tax incentives to the Office of the President as they support the electrification of transport.
“DTI believes that this measure will help develop the local EV market and encourage consumers to consider shifting to EVs for a cleaner and greener transportation option,” Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said in a statement.
Meanwhile, NEDA Chief Arsenio Balisacan said the agency will focus on the probable inclusion of e-motorcycles under EO 12 after stakeholders voiced out their concerns that it was ‘unfair’ to leave them out.
Several stakeholders of the EV industry aired their concerns when e-motorcycles were not given tax breaks and called on the concerned government agencies to amend the executive issuance.
Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) President Edmund Araga, who initially lobbied against the inclusion of e-trikes and e-jeeps in the EO, said that giving tax breaks for e-motorcycles will help electrify the transport of the country and develop a local industry for it.
International think tank Stratbase ADR Institute President Prof. Dindo Manhit earlier stated that the revision and inclusion of e-motorcycles in the tax break will help Filipinos choose EVs and help the government’s goals toward sustainable transportation.
EV industry hopeful to get import tariff incentives early next year
