Mahindra Thar may get a price cut in India, not an 'SUV' as per GST council

Mahindra Thar is one of the most popular 4X4 SUVs in the country. The offroader from the Indian automaker has an immense following and buyers have to face long waiting periods just to receive delivery of their Thar. The Mahindra Thar received a major facelift in 2020 and currently the price of the car in India starts at Rs 13.58 lakh (ex-showroom). Following a recent GST council meet, Mahindra Thar may get a price cut in India soon. The GST council has changed the definition of SUVs in the recent meeting. Which means that few of the popular SUVs that are sold in India are not ‘SUV’ anymore, resulting in less tax.

As per the new definition, a car can be defined as an SUV if it is longer than 4,000mm, has engine capacity over 1,500cc and a ground clearance of more than 170mm. If a car fails to meet any of these parameters, it does not qualify as an SUV. Mahindra Thar meets two of these parameters as the car has 226mm of ground clearance and engines with more than 1,500cc capacity. When it comes to length, the Mahindra Thar fails to qualify as an SUV as per the GST council because it is only 3,985 mm long.

According to the council, SUVs will attract 28% GST and 22% cess or 50 percent total tax. The vehicle that does not identify as an SUV will attract lower cess. As the Mahindra Thar is not an SUV, the car may get a price cut in on-road prices.

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Over the years, Mahindra Thar has made a cult for itself and the carmaker is currently gearing up to launch the 5-door version of the vehicle soon. Although the company has not officially revealed any details about the SUV, many details about it are already available online. The Mahindra Thar 5-door appeared to be an extended version of the standard Thar. This means that it will have length more than 4,000mm which helps it to qualify as an SUV.