AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha urges Punjab to impose reciprocal entry tax on Himachal vehicles

The AAP MLA from Ropar Assembly constituency, Dinesh Chadha, today demanded that the state government should impose reciprocal entry tax on vehicles registered in Himachal Pradesh entering Punjab. Chadha, along with residents of some villages located on the state border in Ropar district, reached the Himachal entry toll tax barrier near Ghanauli area.

He protested against collection of entry tax from the residents of villages located along the borders of Himachal in Punjab. He also talked to the Himachal excise officials on call and questioned the imposition of tax on people residing in border areas.

Later, while talking to The Tribune, the AAP MLA alleged that the Himachal government was the only state in the country which has imposed entry tax on vehicles registered in other states. Himachal was collecting about Rs 100 crore annually through the entry tax and 90 per cent of it was being paid by residents of Punjab. I have written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to take up the issue with the Himachal CM. In case the Himachal government does not relent, Punjab should also impose reciprocal entry tax on vehicles registered in Himachal entering state territory, he said.

Chadha also alleged that the entry tax of Himachal was also leading to other revenue loss to Himachal. People residing in border areas along Himachal were purchasing cars from the neighbouring states and getting them registered there to get exemption from entry tax. This was causing loss of GST and road tax to Punjab, he said.

The issue of imposing reciprocal entry tax on vehicles registered in Himachal was first taken up by the Nangal Municipal Council. In a resolution brought by MC, Paramjit Singh Pamma, the Nangal Municipal Councillor, had unanimously passed a resolution in July this year to impose reciprocal tax on Himachal registered vehicles entering Punjab. The resolution is yet to get approval from the secretary of local government. The residents of Nangal had also formed a sangarsh committee to fight over the issue and a dharna was held on the Himachal border recently.

Now, Chadha has also demanded the imposition of entry tax on vehicles registered in Himachal while entering Punjab. Earlier, the Minister for Education and Public Relations, Harjot Singh Bains, had also extended support to the protestors demanding abolition of entry tax in Himachal.

Himachal excise department has imposed Rs 70 as entry tax for small cars and Rs 110 for seven-seater personal cars registered in other states while entering Himachal. The tax was being charged for a period of 24 hours.