Indian auto major, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has said that it will be forced to modify its models in order to avoid higher excise duty on its SUV models.

The company said that it will be forced to change model specifications for lower duty. The company had said earlier that any additional duty would impact the revenue generation in the auto industry, which is already facing a slowdown in recent years. The company said that it does not wish to change its policy often but now it will be forced to do whatever required to get back to the 27 per cent excise bracket for its models.

Mahindra & Mahindra President for Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors, Pawan Goenka said that company is already concerned about the additional tax and the criterion and justification of the additional duty has added pressure on the company.

“If it is for road congestion, why haven't all large vehicles been subjected to the same tax hike? If this is a tax on the rich, why not tax all vehicles above a certain price point?,” Goenka asked. He also said that if the tax is for diesel subsidies that why has the government not imposed tax on all diesel vehicles.