Top EV Brands Refund Rs 312 Crore As Directed By Government

A few months back the government had sent notices to major electric two-wheeler manufacturers to refund Rs 469 crore for not complying with the norms and guidelines set for the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) II scheme.

There were two aspects which prompted the centre to send notices to the various EV brands. The first being that brands had charged customers separately for chargers for their scooters, this was done so as to keep the cost of vehicle under Rs 1.50 lakh so that manufacturers could claim the FAME II subsidy. The more serious allegation is that manufacturers imported components for their scooters (mostly from China) and declared that they were being manufactured in India so as to avail the subsidy.

According to a latest report, four EV manufacturers have either refunded or deposited the ‘extra amount’ charged to their customers for electric chargers. This action comes following the orders of the heavy industry ministry. According to the ministry the total amount was Rs 312 crore, out of which Rs 183 crore has been refunded and the rest Rs 129 crore has been deposited with the government.

According to reports, Ather Energy has deposited Rs 100 crore and refunded Rs 58 crore to its customers. Similarly Ola Electric has refunded Rs 115 crore back to its customers and deposited Rs 21 crore with the government. It’s still unclear how much amount, Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor have deposited or refunded, but it seems they have cleared their default as well.