Cantt boards to stop taking vehicle entry fee: MoD

Aurangabad: The

Ministry of Defence

(

MoD

) has issued a communication asking all the cantonment boards in the country ‘to stop forthwith’ the collection of vehicle entry fee, but the

Aurangabad Cantonment Board

(

ACB

) is unlikely to do away with it anytime soon.ACB authorities have claimed that they are not recovering a fee. Rather, they are collecting vehicle entry tax from the vehicles passing from its limits.ACB chief officer Vikrant More told TOI, “The orders issued by the ministry are meant for the cantonment boards collecting vehicle entry fees. It is not applicable to ACB, which is collecting vehicle entry tax in accordance to the central government’s gazette notification of 2003.”The officer said through the tax, the ACB gets monthly revenue of Rs 50 lakh and it is the largest source for the board.The defence ministry’s communication dated January 7 reads, ‘it is observed that collection of vehicle entry fee by Cantonment Boards by installing barricades/nakas/ collection kiosks does not conform to the government’s initiative towards smooth movement of goods and traffic and impedes the efforts towards the ease of living and ease of doing business.’‘It has, therefore, been decided that collection of vehicle entry fee by cantonment boards be stopped forthwith. The mechanism for seeking proportionate share from the state government agency, municipality out of any such similar fees being imposed by them on entry of vehicles centrally may be considered suitably’.