In early December, the Investment Law Enforcement Commission (Comap) introduced an important change for the electric passenger vehicles when lowering the import ceiling price which was established. This week, he changed that value again, but the change wasn’t that drastic.
The maximum import price for electric passenger vehicles (to be included in investment projects promoted by Comap) was US$60,000. On December 1, the commission varied it and defined that as of December 18 it would be US$27,000. That caused concern among electric car importers who understood that the measure would discourage purchase.
This Wednesday, Comap ordered another change. He explained that due to important variations in the international prices of raw materials and freight, The CIF import value (merchandise, cost and freight) for electric passenger vehicles is modified, and also for utility vehicles to be leased, which may not exceed US$ 40,000.
Comap grants tax benefits if the project meets certain indicators. Electric vehicles generate points within the clean technology investment indicator. The measure is in force from this Thursday.
The person in charge of the accounting department of the Bragard study, Cynthia Carballorecalled that the fact of being able to consider electric vehicles as passengers as an eligible investment is a transitory provision, which applies only to those carried out until August 31, 2023. “Regarding utility vehicles, these same restrictions they will apply if they are acquired by companies whose line of business is vehicle leasing,” he clarified.
Electric cars
Carballo indicated that the possibility of including electric vehicles in investment projects to be presented to Comap to be promoted encouraged the purchase. “Investors take it into account, they think about it for a project issue,” he said.
The commission also ordered another change. “Vehicles promoted based on this regulation must display information centered on the two front doors, except when they display company advertising, in which case it may be placed centered on the inside of both doors.”, indicated the Comap. The text must be: “Vehicle promoted under article 11 of Law No. 16,906 – Investment Law”.
The new regulation added that the “information must be placed on a white poster measuring 60 x 30 centimeters, with black letters. The font to be used must be Arial in size 115, except for the company name that will be used the same font in size 100. This poster must be perfectly legible and indelible, not allowing any system for easy removal of it, nor of the information displayed.
The vision of the importers
The manager of the Automotive Trade Association (ACAU), Ignacio Paz, told The Observer that Approximately 70% of the electric vehicles that are marketed are through Comap. The main concern of importers was that the first change – from US$ 60,000 to US$ 27,000 – was reported on December 1 and came into effect 18 days later.
“A change of this type without notice and without possibility affected and did not give the possibility of accommodating the body according to the times that are handled in the automotive sector,” he said.
Paz explained that with a maximum price of US$27,000, practically all electric passenger vehicles were left out. “That could have caused a drop in the sales rate of electric vehicles,” he said. He reported that the average CIF value of these cars is approximately US$ 30,000. Therefore, and despite requesting a meeting with Comap in the next few hours, the automotive sector received the change positively.
Since 2019, ACAU has verified that the sale of electric vehicles grows annually. In that year there were 166 units; last year 1,043 were sold.
