Revolt repays Rs 50 crore to govt, PMP violators begin compliance

Revolt Intellicorp, one of the seven companies accused of breaching the phased manufacturing programme (PMP) guidelines under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME-II), has moved towards compliance by repaying Rs 50 crore to the government.

“We have received a cheque worth Rs 50 crore 2 lakh from Revolt Intellicorp. More are likely to follow suit,” the joint secretary of the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI), Hanif Qureshi, said, confirming the repayment.

Initially, Revolt Intellicorp claimed subsidies of Rs 44 crore from the government. Now, they have repaid this sum along with interest.

Queries sent to Revolt Intellicorp remained unanswered at the time of going to press.

The company’s decision to repay the wrongly claimed subsidy comes at a time when the electric vehicle industry's lobbying body, the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), is appealing to the MHI to extend the 50 per cent localisation deadline for PMP violators.

Last Wednesday, the SMEV proposed that if the government plans to retrieve the allocated subsidies, it could contemplate asking customers to reimburse the respective amounts to the companies.

Nevertheless, the government maintains its stance that the guidelines should remain unaltered, even in consideration of a specific group that has failed to comply with them.

“The FAME-II guidelines were uniformly applicable to all participants. Among the 13 entities subject to PMP investigation, six have been cleared of any wrongdoing, as testing agencies found no violations on their part. If they can comply with localisation regulations, it stands true for all,” Qureshi explained.

He added that these guidelines are consistent for all 62 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) registered under the FAME-II scheme.

Last year, the MHI commenced an investigation into alleged PMP guideline violations based on whistleblower complaints. Subsequently, in April 2023, it was disclosed that seven OEMs, including Revolt Intellicorp, had substantially used imported Chinese components in their vehicles. The other companies implicated were Hero Electric, Okinawa Autotech, Ampere Vehicles (Greaves Cotton), Benling India, Amo Mobility, and Lohia Auto.

Recovery notices amounting to Rs 469 crore were sent to these violators beginning April 29, along with de-registration of the OEMs from claiming further incentives. Several accused companies asked for extensions to submit further documents or sought exoneration to address the situation.

Revolt Intellicorp's move to repay the wrongly claimed subsidy has given optimism to the government's endeavours to correct the situation.

The government's intention behind the subsidy, granted under the FAME-II scheme, was not merely to boost electric vehicle adoption but to create a robust manufacturing ecosystem for such vehicles in India.

The PMP guidelines aimed to enhance domestic value addition. By importing products, the OEMs failed to fulfil the scheme's purpose.

The FAME-II guidelines mandated that OEMs must source 50 per cent of their raw materials from Indian manufacturers. Despite this, some OEMs continued to utilise Chinese components, thus flouting the policy.

Following Revolt Intellicorp’s move, the government is optimistic that the PMP violators will realign with the guidelines, nurturing a more compliant and self-sufficient electric vehicle manufacturing sector in India.