Lawmakers in Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada on Oct. 6 are seeking to pass a law to exempt imports of electric cars from value-added tax and excise duty.
The lawmakers, headed by leader of the Radical Party Oleh Lyashko, said they want “to increase the availability of individual electric vehicles in Ukraine.”
The authors also suggest exempting from VAT all legal entities that operate electric vehicles, such as taxi, car-rental, and car-leasing services.
“The adoption of this bill will contribute to reducing Ukraine’s energy dependence on foreign powers, reduce the level of environmental pollution, and introduce modern, safe and efficient technologies to the country’s road transport system,” the lawmakers wrote in the bill’s explanatory note.
“By passing this bill, Ukraine will significantly reduce the cost of electric vehicles, which… will ensure a rapid increase of demand for them among the population.”
According to the text of the bill, electric cars are cheaper to run than conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines.
However, the cut in the taxes will only last until 2022, the bill notes.
According to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, 2,593 electric vehicles were registered in Ukraine in 2016. More than that – 3,068 – have been registered so far in 2017. The Nissan Leaf is the most popular electric car in Ukraine.
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