After previously removing tax breaks on eco-friendly vehicles, government has now reversed its position, announcing plans to remove customs duties and VAT on the importation of battery-powered electric vehicles.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert said during yesterday’s 2022 budget presentation that the measure would be limited to used electric vehicles of up to two years.
“In keeping with the Government’s commitment to promote a green economy and reduce our carbon footprint, I propose to remove all custom duties, motor vehicle tax and value-added tax on the importation of battery-powered electric vehicles with an age limit on imported used battery-powered electric vehicles of two years.”
He said the measure will take effect from January 1, 2022 and will be reviewed after two years.
In October 2020 government announced the removal of import taxes on all private vehicles, including electric and hybrid vehicles, citing a drain on foreign exchange reserves and the problem of too many cars on the road.
In August, government said plans were underway to increase the penetration of electric vehicles in keeping with Trinidad and Tobago’s commitments to the Paris Agreement called the Nationally Determined Contributions.
The Ministry of Planning and Development said a consultant was engaged by the United Nations Environment Programme and Denmark Technical University (DTU/UNEP), to develop funding proposals for the instalment of ultra-fast solar electric vehicle chargers.
“Many countries have already signalled that they will be phasing out the sale of new vehicles that run on fossil fuels (including compressed natural gas) and using internal combustion engines (ICE vehicles) by as early as 2025, by replacement with electric vehicles (EVs).”
“Car manufacturers globally have already reacted to this policy signal and have made business decisions to cease the manufacture of ICE vehicles in the near future, the Committee agreed that it is the prudent policy choice for Trinidad and Tobago to further advance its sectoral plans ahead of this global energy shift.”
Some of the other activities being undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Development include:
- Operationalization of a Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system to track the progress of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in T&T.
- Undertaking a greenhouse gas inventory certification programme in the air conditioning and refrigeration sector.
- Solar installations in public buildings with the UNDP.
- The investigation of a carbon pricing mechanism for Trinidad and Tobago’s engagement.
- Piarco Airport solar project with the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance Plus (GCCA+) also involving the Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago.
See the Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission’s guidelines for the installation of electric charging stations here: https://bit.ly/3BfR3ch