BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) - The European Commission

will start customs registration of Chinese electric vehicle (EV)

imports on Thursday, 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.

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.