The move to provide tax break for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) gained support at the House of Representatives with the filing of a bill to further amend the EV Industry Development Act or the EVIDA law and Executive Order No. 12 series of 2022 which modifies the tax rates for certain EVs, their parts and components.

Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda filed House Bill 9573 which seeks to modify the tariff rates for electric vehicles.

The EO does not give tax breaks for two-wheeled electric vehicles.

Under EO 12, only kick scooters, self-balancing cycles, bicycles and pocket motorcycles with auxiliary motors not exceeding 250w and with a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour have zero import duties. EO 12 is up for review in February 2024.

Salceda lamented that e-motorcycles "were not given proper treatment" even if these are the most affordable types of electric vehicles.

"Some 60 percent of electric vehicles are two-wheeled, meaning that the vast majority of electric vehicles do not benefit from the tax incentives granted under the law," the lawmaker said.

"Encouraging electric cars while locking out electric motorcycles does not address congestion issues but merely substitutes petroleum-fueled cars for their space on the road," he added.

HB 9573 revises the definition of electric cars to include two-wheeled vehicles.

"While the EVIDA has successfully propelled a six-fold increase in electric car sales in 2023 compared to 2022, limitations in the law have excluded two-wheeled electric vehicles from crucial fiscal incentives," Salceda said.

The exclusion of two-wheeled vehicles in the list of EVs gained the disapproval of stakeholders in the industry. They said that this is not fair to the majority of motorists, business owners and environmentalists.

A study conducted by business consulting firm Frost and Sullivan in 2018 showed that 93 percent of surveyed Filipinos said that they are open to buying electric vehicles.

The Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines projected the EV market to grow at an annual rate of 8 percent to 12 percent in the next 10 years.