Delhi transport dept to organise online consultation for EV subsidy

The Delhi government, which provides a subsidy for the purchase of electric vehicles (EV), has found that at least 15-20% of people who purchase such vehicles cannot collect them due to erroneous paperwork. 

To ensure all consumers who purchase EV two-wheelers and three-wheelers can take advantage of the subsidy, the Delhi transport department's EV cell would host online training and consultations for dealers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) every two weeks to explain the procedure of obtaining the subsidy, EV cell officials aware of the matter said on Sunday. 

"We realised that even though it is a basic process, the dealerships and OEMs need to revisit it to be up to date on the process and make fewer mistakes. So, we will show them the form online and explain what needs to be done in each category during this type of refresher training," said N Mohan, chief executive officer of the EV cell. 

Under its EV policy 2020, the Delhi government provides subsidies to EV purchasers. However, rather than deducting the subsidy from the purchase price, it is transferred directly to the consumer's account after the purchase. The dealer or OEM fills out a document with the consumer's information, which the transport department validates, and the transfer is completed.

Officials said that in some situations, dealers enter incorrect information in the forms, such as the consumer's bank account number, resulting in the consumer not receiving the subsidy on time. Then, the documents must be returned to the dealers, who take a long time to fill the details. 

According to officials, while the subsidy is moved directly to the consumer's account, it is only transferred to Aadhaar-connected bank accounts, details of which are frequently incorrectly filled in the forms. Other common errors include improper name spelling, incorrect address, and incorrect car model number. 

"We make every effort to complete all forms within ten working days. The main issue is that if a form is inaccurate and returned, it takes a long time to return after all the facts have been corrected. This is because the dealers must then take an interest and obtain all of the customer's information again. We are attempting to shorten this turnaround time so that there are fewer errors and the forms do not need to be returned," Mohan added. 

He also said that a small session for two-wheeler dealers was held last week and another session for three-wheeler dealers and OEMs will be held in two weeks. The dealers can also explain their difficulties; if there are any technical challenges, the department can help them handle them, he added. 

There are currently 23 OEMs and 131 dealers in Delhi for EV two-wheelers, 98 OEMs and 202 dealers for EV three-wheelers, and two OEMs and 15 dealers for EV four-wheelers. 

According to the Delhi EV Policy, two-wheelers are eligible for a ₹5,000 subsidy per kWh of battery capacity (maximum ₹30,000). Three-wheelers are eligible for a ₹30,000 subsidy per vehicle, regardless of overall cost or battery capacity. The subsidy for four-wheelers is no longer available because it was only available for the first 1,000 EVs registered under the scheme. The Delhi government had allowed a subsidy of ₹10,000 per kWh battery capacity for four-wheelers, up to a maximum of ₹1.5 lakh. 

"By 2023, 10-15% of automobiles sold in Delhi will be electric. To fulfil policy targets for 2024, it must be 2.5 times (the EV policy says the Delhi government aims to have 25% of all vehicles registered in the city to be electric by 2024). The incentive programme or subsidy is a critical instrument in driving adoption, but we have recently encountered roadblocks in the process. The provision of bi-weekly training to the OEM sales team is an excellent first step toward increasing process efficiency, transparency, correctness, and ease of documentation. Furthermore, strengthening B2C (buyer to consumer) contacts in the EV segment is necessary," said Annanya Das, mobility programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). 

However, she emphasised that the key to avoiding long-term errors will be to assess efficiency indicators such as processing time and information precision regularly.