Expert talks promoting import of electric and hybrid vehicles to Azerbaijan

24 January 2021 15:16 (UTC+04:00)

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A program for recycling old cars to renew the car fleet is planned to be implemented in Azerbaijan, Transport expert, lawyer Arshad Huseynov told Trend.

"One of the main goals of this program is to prevent damage to the environment from old vehicles. In this regard, it is important to stimulate the import of environmentally friendly hybrids and electric vehicles," said the expert.

If hybrid cars imported into the country are exempt from excise tax, customs duties, and value-added tax (VAT) is reduced, the price of these cars will drop significantly.

"There are serious customs benefits for electric vehicles. However, it would be worthwhile to abolish customs duties for a while. Currently, electric vehicles imported into the country are exempt from excise tax and VAT, but they are subject to 15-percent customs duty. But it would be better if there was not this customs duty. In this case, the import of such cars into the country would increase massively," Huseynov noted.

The expert stressed that hybrids and electric vehicles are more efficient from an environmental point of view.

"Older cars are more polluting, while hybrid and electric cars are more environmentally efficient. Many people and various government agencies are proposing to stimulate the import of hybrids and electric vehicles, especially, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources also supports this initiative," added Huseynov.