Get ready to pay toll & green tax from April 1 for travel to Shimla

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, February 22

Tourists travelling to Shimla from Parwanoo will have to pay multiple taxes from April 1. Besides the current entry tax, a toll will be charged at a plaza coming up at Sanwara in Dharampur tehsil in the district. Also, the local civic body will charge a ‘green tax’ from those travelling to Shimla in vehicles registered in other states.

While the entry tax is being charged for the last two decades, the private company engaged in the widening of the Parwanoo-Solan highway to four lanes will collect toll at a plaza being set up at Sanwara from April 1.

Since 80 per cent of the highway expansion work has been completed, they are eligible to charge toll as per the norms. The rate is yet to be fixed but it will put a monetary burden on tourists.

The government collects about Rs 95 crore as tax at inter-state barriers across the state. Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department are preparing to renew entry tax licences by hiking the fees by about 10 per cent over the previous year. The vehicles registered in Himachal are exempt from paying the entry tax but all road users will have to pay the toll for travelling on the highway, says a senior official of the Excise and Taxation Department.

“Depending on the size of the vehicle, Rs 40 to Rs 70 is supposed to be paid by a tourist as entry tax at Parwanoo. The Parwanoo unit is expected to add about Rs 13.08 crore to the state exchequer as per the reserve price fixed for the next financial year,” said Himanshu Pawar, Deputy Commissioner, State Excise and Taxation, Solan.

The collection of multiple taxes on the same road has become a debatable issue with residents asking whether the government can charge tax on a road maintained by the Central Government. Tourists were hopeful that once the highway toll was paid, the state would do away with its own entry tax but given the financial crisis, doing away with such a tax would not be feasible.

Tourists travelling to Shimla should get ready to pay green tax too as the local urban body is preparing to charge it following the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The NGT had directed the government to charge Rs 500 from those driving polluting vehicles in view of increasing air pollution in the town. The move to charge green tax had begun some years ago but it was later discontinued.

The tourism influx has declined in recent years and multiple taxes will not augur well for tourists.

New charges

While the entry tax is being charged for the last two decades, the private company engaged in the widening of the Parwanoo-Solan highway to four lanes will collect toll at a plaza being set up at Sanwara at Parwanoo in Solan district from April 1.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.