Govt Extends Fame-II Certificate Validity For Approved EV Models By Up To One Year
The Department of Heavy Industries, through a notification issued on April 12, has informed that the validity of certificates for availing benefits under the FAME-II scheme for all approved electric vehicle models has been extended by up to one year from the date of issuance.
FAME-II eligibility certificates issued by testing agencies and approval of models of electric vehicles by NAB/DHI were valid up to 31 March, 2021.
In a communication to nodal bodies such as SIAM, SMEV, ARAI and ICAT, the government announced that the FAME-II certificate will be valid for one year from the date of its issue for all approved vehicle models – e-2W, e-3W & e-4W.
In addition, the OEMs and testing agencies are informed that all approved models will have to submit a Revalidation Certificate within an additional timeline of one month from the last date of the validity of the certificate.
On the extension, Sohinder Gill, Director General, Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV) said, “We thank the government for accepting our request and extending the validity of FAME-II certification for one year from the date of issuance. This measure would provide much relief to OEMs, who were unable to sell their inventory till 31 March, 2021.”
He further pointed out that the industry is awaiting the government's decision for other important policy interventions to support e-mobility. Few initiatives that can catalyse a significant growth in electric vehicles include starting a major EV awareness campaign across India, mandating delivery vehicles to convert to electric and extension of FAME-II by another three years.
“An early decision and announcement of these measures would attract investments into the sector and help in the development of the local supply chain,” he added.
As per the latest notification, non-revalidation of vehicle models within the stipulated time period, its registration with FAME-II web portal is liable to be cancelled.
As per the FAME-II scheme, about INR 8,800 crore was to be given to electric vehicle buyers, while INR 1,200 crore was allocated for setting-up charging infrastructure to support one million two-wheelers, 500,000 three-wheelers, 55,000 cars and 7090 e-buses.
'This announcementstead of earlier case of validity which was FY wise. This has been addressed very well by DHI. We appreciate and thank DHI to accept this recommendation of the industry. Such progressive measures would help bolster industry’s confidence to introduce more and more electric models with time.' said SIAM in a statement.We believe that the scheme is largely on a right track and would result into desirable outcomes in the coming few years.
Mobility outlook earlier this week reported that about 98% of the planned subsidy is lying idle due to stringent policies of localisation and performance criteria.