Luxury car makers voice disappointment over GST Councils increase in cess

Key highlights:

• Roland Folger said that the luxury car industry has been at the receiving end of arbitrary policies
• The current increase in cess along with the hike in on-road taxes will increase the prices of their cars
• Rahil Ansari said it will dampen the spirits of not only the companies, dealers and customers but also workers and employees

Luxury car manufacturers on Monday voiced their frustration against the GST Council's decision to increase the cess on luxury cars, SUVs and mid-segment cars. The Finance Ministry in a tweet today said that the GST Council had decided to increase the cess on these cars to 25% from the 15% cess decided earlier.

Roland Folger, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said they were highly disappointed with the decision and said that the luxury car industry has been at the receiving end of arbitrary policies. He said the current increase in cess along with the hike in on-road taxes will increase the prices of such vehicles well beyond the pre-GST prices.

SUVs, luxury cars to get expensive as GST Council recommends hike in cess to 25%