Tax imposed by Himachal on vehicles with all-India permit opposed

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, July 21

All India Motor Transport Congress has opposed the tax imposed by the state government on commercial tourist vehicles like taxis and Volvo buses entering the state on All India Tourist Permit (AITP). The Congress has termed the recent tax imposed by the state government as illegal.

Harish Sabarwal, chairman, All India Motor Transport Congress, while talking to The Tribune, said that tax imposed was in violation of the All India Tourist Vehicles Permit Rules, 2023 as notified by the Union Ministry for Surface Transport.

“We have met the Union Minister for Surface Transport for State, General (retd) VK Singh and informed him about the same. The minister has written to the state government that the tax is illegal and should be withdrawn. If it fails to do so even after the communication from Union ministry from surface transport, we will move court,” he said.

Sabarwal said the policy for issuing AITP to vehicles was notified by the Union Ministry for Surface Transport in 2022 in consultation with states. The state government had also accepted the policy. As per the rules, all vehicles of less than five-passenger capacity have to pay Rs 20,000 annual fee for the AITP. The annual fee for vehicles having seating capacity of more than five and less than 10 passengers is Rs 30,000, for the vehicles with seating capacity of more than 10 and less 20 annual fee is Rs 80,000 and for vehicles of more than 20 seats the annual fee is Rs 3 lakh.

The deputy CM and Minister for Transport Mukesh Agnihotri said the state had imposed tax on tourist vehicles registered in other states and having AITP permits to check theft of tax. Many vehicles registered in other states were plying as state carriage buses which was hurting the business of buses and taxis that were registered in the state.

The India Motor Transport Congress chairman, however, said that earlier also TN and Kerala had imposed such tax and it has been stayed by the Supreme Court. “We will move Himachal High Court and the SC in case the state government does not withdraw the tax,” he said.