BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission

plans to start customs registration of Chinese electric vehicle

(EV) imports, meaning they could be hit by tariffs from that

point if the EU's trade investigation later concludes that they

are receiving unfair subsidies.

The Commission is carrying out an anti-subsidy investigation

into Chinese battery EVs to determine whether to impose tariffs

to protect EU producers. The probe is due to conclude by

November, although the EU could impose provisional duties in

July.

In a document published on Tuesday, the Commission said it

had sufficient evidence tending to show Chinese EVs were being

subsidised and that imports had increased by 14% year-on-year

since the investigation was formally launched in October.

It said EU producers could suffer harm, which would be

difficult to repair, if Chinese imports continued at this

accelerated rate before the conclusion of the investigation.

Registration will start the day after the plan is published

in the EU official journal, which is likely to be in the coming

days.

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said that it was

disappointed by the move and that the surge of imports reflected

increasing European demand for electric vehicles.