Cabinet exempts hybrid car batteries from sales tax

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday decided to exempt electric and hybrid vehicle batteries from general sales tax.

In a recent decision, the Council of Ministers exempted electric vehicles from customs fees, general sales tax, and the special tax on sales in order to motivate more to buy them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During Sunday’s session, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat, the council also exempted electric car batteries from customs fees and general sales tax. 

In remarks to The Jordan Times earlier this year, Nabil Rumman, president of the Jordan Free Zone Investors Association, said sales of the fuel-efficient cars are on the rise, with over 5,000 hybrids entering the local market in the first quarter of 2015.

More than 16,000 hybrids were imported for the domestic market in 2014, he added.

The overall number of hybrid cars in Jordan is over 36,000, with the Toyota Prius standing as the top-selling car.

Also during Sunday’s session, the Cabinet decided to connect universities through the National Centre for Information Technology, adopted as the only provider of Internet, provided that it offers competitive prices and quality services, Petra reported. 

Proposed amendments on projects funded through the Gulf Cooperation Council’s grant were also approved, providing JD200 million from the grant to the Education Ministry for the maintenance and building of schools in Jordan, according to Petra.