India, Sept. 4 -- In a major relief for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and buyers, the goods and services tax (GST) council on Wednesday (August 3) retained the 5% tax rate on pure electric vehicles.

Responding to a question about the tax levy attracted by EVs, revenue secretary Arvind Shrivastava, during the post-GST council briefing, clarified that "it remains at 5%". The council also underlined that all categories of electric vehicles, whether mass-market or luxury, will continue to attract a GST rate of 5%, with no additional cess.

The retention comes as a major respite for the EV ecosystem after reports surfaced that the GST council was considering bringing premium EVs under higher tax slabs.

With this, domestic companies lik...