UPDATE 1-India's retail auto sales get tax, festival boost in September

(Adds details paragraph 2 onwards) Oct 7 (Reuters) – Indian dealers' auto sales grew 5.2% year-on-year in September, with upbeat growth across two-wheelers and passenger vehicles, as tax cuts boosted demand during the festive season, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Tuesday. While sales were muted in the first three weeks of September, they surged after September 22, when the revised goods and services tax rates took effect, the auto dealers association said. Two-wheeler sales climbed 6.5% from a year earlier, while passenger vehicle sales grew 5.8%. Dealers posted record high sales during the nine-day Navratri festival, the association said, with a 34% year-on-year jump during the period, as a wave of new customers entered showrooms and existing ones upgraded their vehicles, taking advantage of lower taxes and festive schemes. The auto dealers body expects an above-normal monsoon, strong harvest, and steady lending rates to boost purchasing power of consumers, driving demand. It also expects "peak sales" during the Diwali festival in October, when Indians typically tend to make high-value purchases. (Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala and Ronojoy Mazumdar)

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