BMW to Harley: Luxury cars, premium bikes costlier on duty hike post Budget

The move will primarily impact luxury car companies like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi and Volvo and bike brands like Triumph and Harley Davidson.

Imported luxury cars and top-end bikes and those locally assembled with imported components will turn expensive after the Budget hiked customs duty on completely built units (CBUs) and completely knocked down (CKD) units of automobiles. In a push for locally manufactured auto components and tyres, customs duty on these was also hiked.

 The customs duty on CBU automobiles has been raised to 25 per cent from 20 per cent earlier, a move that will make these imported vehicles expensive by five per cent. The duty on CKD products have been increased from 10 to 15 per cent. The move will