Concern over fines imposed on goods-carrying vehicles

GUWAHATI: The All Assam Goods Carrying Association on Monday expressed concern over fines imposed on transport vehicles for alleged discrepancies in gross vehicle weight (GVW).
Addressing the media, president of the association, Abdul Mazid, alleged that the transport department has been imposing heavy fines on the goods-carrying vehicles even after carrying load weighing lesser than the permissible amount on their vehicles.There is a discrepancy regarding GVW in the registration certificates of the vehicles and interpretation of that by the district transport officers.
“The ministry of road transport and highways in 2018 had revised the weight limits of the vehicles. The GVW comprises the weight of the vehicle and the weight carried on them. The GVW of a 10-wheeler goods-carrying vehicle can be up to 18 tonnes. However, the transport department across the state is levying heavy fines on us even though our members are carrying limited weight. The DTOs impose fines as high as Rs 25,000 to 26,000 every time they intercept our vehicles,” he said.
The association alleged that the root cause of the problem lies in the inconsistency between the endorsed GVW limits and their subsequent interpretation, leading to unwarranted fines and legal complications for vehicle owners who have acted in good faith.
Mazid said the vehicle owners have been willingly and dutifully paying the necessary taxes to the district transport offices to have their vehicles’ GVW increased in accordance with the updated standards. He added that these increased weight limits were officially endorsed on their registration certificates, giving them the assurance that their vehicles could be operated within these enhanced capacities. “However, a distressing pattern has emerged, where district transport officers are diverging from the endorsed limits and imposing fines based on their own individual interpretations. The heavy fines imposed are causing financial hardships to the vehicle owners, with various other issues such as rising fuel costs and maintenance expenses already grappling us. We have approached the state transport minister and transport commissioner but are yet to receive any response from their side,” Mazid said.