SC lifts ban on registering diesel vehicles in Delhi NCR

The court said the Central Pollution Control Board will open a separate account in which the vehicle manufacturers or their dealers will deposit the environment compensation charge.

The court clarified that the issue of diesel being a prime pollutant as well as imposition of a grees cess on diesel vehicles with a capacity of less than 2,000cc would be examined.

The quantum of cess may be increased later, the court said.

Back in December 2015, Supreme Court had banned registration of new vehicles in the Delhi-NCR region.

As various counsel appearing for different manufacturers raised their eyebrows, Salve sought 10 minutes time to argue that one per cent ECC should be levied on all the vehicles, be it fuelled by petrol or diesel. While there were injunctions filed in by the manufacturers and questions raised on whether NGT could impose such bans, sales of these vehicles were temporarily stopped in New Delhi and surrounding regions. “Mercedes said, “. we had offered to pay 1% of ex-showroom price towards anticipated Environment Compensation Charge as a deposit, but not on the premise that our vehicles are polluting the environment”.

The court is yet to decide whether such a charge will be levied on diesel vehicles of engine caparity below 2 litres and if the rate of the charge will be increased. Dr. Pawan Goenka, President of Mahindra’s Automotive Business said, “We are very relieved with the decision of the Supreme Court today”.

The eight month-old Delhi diesel ban, which has created a lot of unrest among several vehicle manufacturers, has finally being lifted. “In addition, we need to move to higher and more uniform emission standards across the country”, said Abdul Majeed, Partner, Price Waterhouse.

Mercedes-Benz posted sales of 6,597 units in India in the January-June period, down 0.9 percent from a year earlier, according to statements on its website.

Short-term decisions lead to increased uncertainty for the future.