Ola Electric can’t seem to keep away from trouble, as the Transport Ministry has asked the Bengaluru-based EV maker for trade certificates, increasing the pressure on the EV maker. The company was issued a show-cause notice and as what NDTV Profit reports, the notice says, “You are hereby directed to furnish response to the aforementioned queries within seven days from the date of receipt of this letter, in order to avoid any adverse action.”
What is this new show-cause notice about?
Ola was issued a fresh show-cause notice on Thursday, asking Ola to furnish details on the number of sales and service centres the company is currently operating and the number of trade certificates acquired in the past three years, along with their date of issuance. Ola Electric also has to explain whether unregistered vehicles are being stored at its centres. Apart from the above, the EV maker has to provide the model and variant-wise details of the 7,820 electric scooters that it sold in February.
The move follows another NDTV report that said the Maharashtra transport department has asked the regional transport offices to close Ola Electric stores operating without a trade certificate. “Action should be taken to close that centre and original trade certificate should be cancelled,” Maharashtra’s joint transport commissioner said in a show cause notice to RTOs in an email.
Ola stores operating illegally
When the raid was conducted, 121 Ola outlets were found to be operating without a trade certificate out of 146 stores in total. Out of these, 75 of them have been closed so far and the authorities have seized 192 Ola electric scooters.
In response, Ola, in an exchange filing on Friday said, “We are not aware of any such negotiations/events regarding a notice from the authorities ordering immediate closure of over 100 showrooms in Maharashtra. Additionally, we’ve already informed the exchange, via our intimation dated March 21, 2025, regarding the receipt of notices in four states pertaining to trade certificates for stores located in those states.”
