Harley, others hit as duty hike makes locally assembled big bikes costlier

Industry feels foreign players will want to gain some volumes in India before developing local vendor base

US President Donald Trump is pushing for more duty cuts on import of completely-built American bikes such as Harley Davidson to India. But, there is a bigger concern bothering the international bike brands operating in the country: the government’s decision to hike the duty on completely knocked-down (CKD) bikes, which are locally assembled. CKD bikes account for three-fourths of the sales of these global brands. Besides Harley Davidson, this is true for British brand Triumph and Japanese brand Kawasaki. 

The decision of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) to slash the import duty on completely built unit (CBU)