Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri announced that he is introducing a bill that will provide incentives to manufacturers, sellers and importers of hybrid vehicles in the country.
Zubiri’s Senate Bill 3397 is titled “An Act Providing Incentives to the Manufacturer, Sale and Importation of Hybrid Vehicles, encourages public support for the development of the hybrid car industry in line with the government’s Alternative Fuels program”.
The Senator from the province of Bukidnon said that the bill’s goal is to reduce the Philippine’s dependence on imported oil, and to provide cheaper and a more environment-friendly alternative to fossil fuel.
The bill proposes that:
Any individual, business partnership or corporation engage in the manufacturing, selling or importation of fuel-saving hybrid cars, including its parts, be exempted from import duties, customs, tariff duties, and excise, value added tax and ad valorem taxes.
It also has provisions for the creation of an Inter-Agency Council to regulate and control the grant of tax exemptions to the manufacturers, sellers or distributors and importers of hybrid cars based on the conditions and regulations determined by the Council. The tax exemptions granted will undergo review every five years by the Council.
The council will comprise of a representative from the Secretary of Finance, who will act as the council chairman. With him will be representatives from the Department of Energy, Dept. of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry; and from the Bureau of Customs.
In Congress a similar bill was submitted by Congressman Singson, this was House Bill 2084. It had already met resistance from the Secretary of finance because it looked like the bill was granting already duplicate tax exemptions granted by the department to new businesses.
Toyota Motor Philippines, importer of the very popular Prius Hybrid, said that they need more incentives from government in order to encourage consumers to purchase their hybrid car. The main drawback to using the Prius hybrid is the high price brought about by steep importation taxes. Initial estimate by them as to the price of the Prius Hybrid car in the Philippines at current tax rates is P2.5 Million.
[source]
Category: Automotive, Law, Hybrids
