Government expands EO 12 to include zero tariff on e-bikes
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) have approved the recommendations of the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) to expand and extend the coverage of Executive Order (EO) 12, Series of 2023, until 2028.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr.
According to NEDA, its Board which is chaired by the President, agreed to maintain the Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate to ZERO until 2028 on 34 tariff lines of battery electric vehicles currently covered under EO 12. It has also decided to expand the list of articles with reduced duty to include e-motorcycles and e-bicycles, and nickel metal hydride accumulators, and reduce the duty on these articles to zero until 2028.
In layman’s terms, this new policy will allow entry of e-motorcycles, e-bikes, and related charging and distribution parts with ZERO import duties.
“Executive Order No. 12 is designed to stimulate the electric vehicle (EV) market in the country, support the transition to emerging technologies, reduce our transport system’s reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributed to road transport. By encouraging consumers to adopt EVs, we are promoting a cleaner, more resilient, and more environmentally friendly transportation alternative,” said Arsenio Balisacan, Vice Chairperson of the NEDA Board.
What does this mean to riders or consumers who will be switching to e-motorcycles/e-bikes? Well, for example, the current SRP of the BMW CE 04 is at PHP 895,000, it may be reduced significantly to a more affordable showroom price to consumers. This may also be the case with e-bikes and e-motorcycles in the entry-level market, like the HATASU Nero which is currently sold with an SRP of PHP 28,990.
The President has also instructed the CTRM to conduct an annual review of the rates to ensure timeliness, applicability, and impact on the sectors concerned due to the modification in duties of EVs.
