Automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has announced that the GST benefits will be fully passed on to customers across its entire ICE SUV portfolio from September 6. The decision follows the announcement of GST 2.0 at the 56th GST Council meeting held on September 3, headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.  

Customers can now save between ₹1.01 lakh and ₹1.56 lakh on the automaker’s ICE SUV portfolio. The XUV3O diesel version leads the trimming with ₹1.56 lakh, while its petrol version’s price tag comes down by ₹1.40 lakh. The 2WD Thar can help save ₹1.35 lakh, whereas the 4WD version sees a reduction of ₹1.01 lakh. The latest addition to the Thar series, the Thar Roxx, also offers savings of ₹1.33 lakh. 

The widely popular Scorpio, too, can help save between ₹1.01 lakh to ₹1.45 lakh, while the Bolero, both Classic and Neo, provides savings benefits of ₹1.27 lakh. 

M&M becomes the second company to announce GST benefits on its car portfolio, after Tata Motors made its announcement yesterday. Tata Motors' price cuts will start from September 22, the date the revised GST rates come into effect.

The automaker announced up to ₹1.55 lakh reduction in prices, starting from up to ₹75,000 cut in the prices of Tata Tiago; ₹80,000 on Tata Tigor; ₹1,10,000 on Tata Altroz, up to ₹85,000 on Tata Punch; ₹1.55 lakh on Tata Nexon; ₹65,000 on Tata Curvv, ₹1.40 lakh on Tata Harrier; and ₹1.45 lakh on Tata Safari.

The GST 2.0 reforms announced by the government simplifies the earlier four-slab GST regime to a two-slab structure, with 5% for essential goods and services, and 18% for standard items. A new 40% rate would be applied to certain sin goods, such as tobacco and luxury items. 

For vehicles powered by petrol, LPG, or CNG with engine capacity of 1,200cc or below, and length not exceeding 4,000 mm, along with diesel vehicles up to 1,500cc and up to 4,000 mm, will see a reduction in GST from 28% to 18%. Meanwhile, larger vehicles will be taxed at 40%.

The GST Council’s decision to slash the tax rate on small cars from 28-31% to 18% and on large cars from 43-50% to a flat rate of 40% will benefit first-time buyers and middle-income families, according to industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers).