In re TATA Motors Ltd. (CAAR Mumbai)
M/s. Tata Motors Limited (hereinafter referred as the Applicant) having its address at Geetanil, 13-19 Nagindas Master Road, Hutatama Chowk, Mumbai, 400001, is a leading automobile manufacturer and is engaged in manufacturing of a wide range of Commercial Vehicles and parts thereof for sale within India and abroad. They submitted an application for advance ruling — CAAR-1, under Customs Act, 1962 dated 06.09.2022 seeking ruling on the classification of Fuel Cell System proposed to be used in manufacturing of Hydrogen Fuel Cells Vehicles.
2. The applicant made the following submissions:
2.1 They are proposing to manufacture Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles in India. The Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles proposed to be manufactured by the Applicant are called Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles [‘FCEVs’]. They operate through power generated by its Fuel Cell System and gas.
2.2 The FCEVs will operate using power derived from following sources:
(a) Power generated within the FCEV from Hydrogen Gas- The power is so generated by the vehicle’s Fuel Cell System using hydrogen fuel cells. This power generated is mainly directly supplied to power electronic controller and transmission via Power Distribution Unit. Some portion of the power generated is also used to recharge the
(b) Power stored in battery- This battery too is recharged using the power generated by the Fuel Cell System from Hydrogen gas.
The aforesaid operation is pictorially represented below for easy understanding:
2.3 The vehicle will predominantly function using the power generated by the Fuel Cell System using the hydrogen fuel cells. The present application pertains to the classification of the aforesaid Fuel Cell System proposed to be imported by the applicant.
2.4 The Fuel Cell System produces power using hydrogen. It enables the FCEVs to operate on power so generated rather than drawing power from only a Battery. Pictorial Image of Fuel Cell System is as follows:
Normally, conventional electric vehicles are powered by electricity and any other alternate source of power. The electricity is supplied through a battery in the vehicle. The battery is charged periodically, and the electricity is stored therein. The battery then distributes the power to the parts of vehicle thereby powering the vehicle. The Fuel Cell System cleanly and efficiently produces electricity using hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen fuel cells produce no harmful emissions, eliminating the costs associated with handling and storing toxic materials like battery acid or diesel fuel. They are more efficient than many other energy sources, including many green energy solutions. Further. the FCEVs are more beneficial as compared to the conventional electric vehicles. The fuel cells are lighter and smaller and can supply electricity as long as the hydrogen fuel is supplied. Thus, they are suitable for long range vehicles. On the contrary, the conventional electric vehicles depend on electricity stored in energy storage device such as a battery and therefore are suitable for short range vehicles only. Further, the fuel also requires lesser space in a vehicle than the components in a conventional electric vehicle. Therefore, size of the vehicles that can be allocated for the components is also less in FCEVs as compared to conventional electric vehicles. During the vehicle design process, the vehicle manufacturer defines the power of the vehicle by the intended application and drive cycle.
2.5 The Fuel Cell System is made of seven components as tabulated below.
