Philippine House of Representatives passes incentives bill for “green” vehicles

Two committees of the Philippine House of Representatives approved a bill that will provide incentives for the manufacture, assembly and conversion of electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles . The consolidated bill was approved by the Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Trade and Industry. According to Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the proposal will address climate change through fiscal and non-fiscal incentives that will promote the production and marketing of green vehicles, which would also reduce air pollution. “With the advent of environment-friendly cars, there will be less demand for the importation of traditional or conventional fossil fuel and more production of alternative fuels like electric, solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cell, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),” Madanas said.

Incentives for Philippine manufacturers and assemblers

The bill exempts the payment of excise taxes and duties of completely knocked down (CKD) parts of imported electric, hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles, as well as the conversion of vehicles into electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles, for nine years. Imports of completely built units (CBU) will also be exempted from excise taxes for nine years. The import and sale of raw materials, spare parts, capital equipment and components that are used in the manufacture of electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles will likewise be exempted from the value added tax (VAT) of 12% for nine years. Co-authors of the consolidated bill Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez said that sales of hybrid cars in the Philippines are low because of the high price tags due to the high excise and other taxes. For example, Toyota Motor Philippines, Inc. has sold only around 100 hybrid vehicles since it introduced them into the local market. (
October 16, 2011)