India Energy Storage Alliance on Wednesday said batteries, irrespective of technology type, must be uniformly taxed at 5 per cent GST like electric vehicles to support the emerging sector. Ahead of the Union Budget, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) President Debi Prasad Dash told PTI that the government may consider protecting domestic cells and battery component manufacturers in the wake of an increase in imports of lithium-ion cells, which has risen to Rs 24,000 crore in FY24 from Rs 18,000 crore in FY23, especially from China. There is a disparity in the tax structure of batteries, he said, adding GST for lithium-ion batteries is 18 per cent, but other chemistries, like lead acid, sodium, and flow batteries and others, are at 28 per cent. On the other hand, for electric vehicles, the GST is 5 per cent. "So, as an industry, we need support to this emerging sector, and all new technologies must be taxed at 5 per cent, and there should not be any difference between different ...