The Supreme Court (SC) has asked the government not to hike taxes on electric vehicles (EVs) in the Financial Bill for the next fiscal year.

Issuing a mandamus, a joint bench of SC justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Sushma Lata Mathema asked the government to promote the use of EVs. The SC verdict has mentioned for proper implementation of laws and policies that have been devised to check the air pollution created by the transportation sector.

“The government needs to fix tax rates based on the principle that talks about making polluters pay the cost of environmental degradation,” reads the full version of the SC’s decision. Likewise, the SC has sought reducing the dependency gradually on fossil fuel like petrol and diesel and to promote production and use of clean renewable and green energy.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Nepal spent Rs 261 billion alone on imports of petroleum products. With an installation of over 2,600 MW of electricity production plants, the country is heading towards achieving its target of zero carbon emission. However, the poor infrastructure related to electricity distribution and high cost of EV cars has appeared as hurdles to achieve the target.

The apex court has also pointed out people’s right to live in a clean and pollution-free environment. The rate of taxation should be fixed only after ensuring needful precautionary measures to control the air pollution, read the SC’s decision.

Time and again, the government has been expressing its commitments to promote the use of EVs for the sake of environmental protection. However, the inconsistency in the government policies and inadequate infrastructures related to the disposal of expired batteries and recharging stations have been hindering an extensive use of the EVs.