THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, approved the recommendations of the Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) based on the review of Executive Order (EO) No. 12 (s. 2023), which temporarily modified the rates of import duty on electric vehicles (EVs), their parts, and components under the purview of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.  

Chaired by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., the NEDA Board has agreed to maintain the Most Favored Nation (MFN) rate at zero until 2028 on 34 tariff lines of battery electric vehicles currently covered under EO 12. It has also decided to expand the list of articles with reduced duty to include e-motorcycles and e-bicycles, and nickel metal hydride accumulators, and reduce the duty on these articles to zero until 2028.  

The expansion in the coverage of EO 12 also includes other types of EVs, particularly battery e-tricycles and quadricycles; battery, hybrid EV (HEV) and plug-in hybrid EV (PHEV) jeepneys/buses; and HEV and PHEV cars and trucks; as well as completely knocked down (CKD) EVs for all types of vehicles. The tariffs on these articles shall be reduced to zero until 2028. 

“Executive Order No. 12 is designed to stimulate the electric vehicle (EV) market in the country, support the transition to emerging technologies, reduce our transport system’s reliance on fossil fuels, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions attributed to road transport. By encouraging consumers to adopt EVs, we are promoting a cleaner, more resilient, and more environmentally friendly transportation alternative,” said Balisacan, who also serves as the vice chairperson of the NEDA Board.