Reductions In Import Duties In Budget 2025 To Make Harley-Davidson Bikes Cheaper In India

The tariff on the American brand bike has been a point of discussion for several years between India and the US. President Donald Trump has been seeking a reduction in the duties imposed on the brand.

For motorcycles with an engine capacity of more than 1,600 cc, the duties have been slashed from 50 per cent to 30 per cent.

Source : Harley-Davidson

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget presentation on Saturday announced lower import duties on high-capacity motorcycles. In addition to making changes to the tax slabs in the new tax regime, the minister also reduced import duties on imported bikes of higher capacity.

This measure is expected to bring down the price of imported bikes such as Harley-Davidson. The tariff on the American brand bike has been a point of discussion for several years between India and the US. President Donald Trump has been seeking a reduction in the duties imposed on the brand. The announcement in the latest Budget is now expected to ease the strains between the two countries on the matter and improve their trade relations.

The import duty on motorcycles with engine capacity of up to 1,600 cc has been reduced from 50 per cent to 40 per cent. These are imported as completely built-up (CBU) units. For motorcycles with an engine capacity of more than 1,600 cc, the duties have been slashed from 50 per cent to 30 per cent.

Further, the import duty on semi-knocked down (SKD) kits has been brought down from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, and completely knocked down (CKD) units will now be charged a tax at 10 per cent, as compared to the earlier rate of 15 per cent.

This reduction is expected to have a significant impact on the prices of Harley-Davidson bikes in India and is anticipated to make these motorcycles more affordable for a larger range of customers. This could also help the brand in boosting sales and enhancing the market penetration.

Notably, Donald Trump recently threatened to impose taxes on countries that levy heavy tariffs on US goods. In December 2024, the American President said that India’s taxes are excessive and noted, “If they tax us, we tax them the same amount”.