BYD's EVs Have 150kW Motors But Pay Tax on 100kW — Clever Engineering or Tax Dodge?

On November 11, the Court of Appeal ordered Customs to release 625 BYD EVs — Atto 1s, Dolphins, Sealion 7s — that had been held up over a motor capacity dispute. The cars are built with 150kW motors but imported and taxed as 100kW units, because the importer says BYD's firmware electronically caps output at 100kW. Under the current gazette, duty is charged on motor capacity, not actual output: a 100kW EV pays roughly Rs 2.4m in import duty, a 150kW one closer to Rs 5.4m. Customs let the batch go against bank and corporate guarantees, but kept six vehicles back to physically test the motors before deciding. One side says this is normal practice worldwide — the same model ships in different power tiers, and if the maker locks the output, you tax what the car can actually do. The other side says a firmware cap that could be unlocked later is exactly the loophole the law should close, while everyone else pays full freight on declared specs. If you've bought or looked at a BYD here, did anyone mention the 100kW vs 150kW difference before you signed? Motor eka 150kW nම්, tax ekata 100kW kiyala dakkoth, oyaata eka හරිද?