Andhra Pradesh Govt moots quarterly tax for carrier vehicles

VIJAYAWADA: The state transport department issued a gazette notification proposing new ‘quarterly tax’ for passenger and goods carrier vehicles.
The existing tax slabs are enhanced by 25 to 30 per cent on various types of vehicles. The state government will get an additional revenue of ₹1,000 crore to ₹1,250 crore if the new proposed tax slabs come into effect.
The gazette notification stated that objections and suggestions can be sent in the next 30 days and the final gazette will be published after considering the suggestions and objections.
Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC), private travel operators and lorry owners will be affected the most if the new proposed tax slabs come into effect. All three-wheeler autos, both passenger and goods carrier and tractors for agriculture usage are exempted from quarterly tax.
Though the tax slabs are decided based on the laden weight (weight of the vehicle + the maximum permissible load it can carry), majority of the lorries will fall under the maximum tax slab that was decided at ₹3,710 plus ₹ 90 for every 250 kg above 15,000 kg laden weight.
General secretary of Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners Association (APLOA) Y V Eswar Rao said that ₹4,970 has to be paid for even a six-tyre lorry which are almost non-exist now. The existing tax is ₹3,940 which means the tax has been increased by 26 per cent.
The quarterly tax for 10-tyre lorry is proposed to raise from ₹6,580 to ₹8,390. For 12-tyre lorry from ₹8,520 to ₹10,910 and for 14-tyre lorry it would be ₹13,430 from ₹10,480 which is about 30 per cent increase, said Eswar Rao.
The APLOA opposed the proposed hike in quarterly tax and announced that they will protest till the decision is rolled back. Eswar Rao said that the existing quarterly tax in Andhra Pradesh is 30% higher when compared to neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. If the proposed hikes come into effect, the difference in tax will be about 60%. On top of quarterly tax, Andhra Pradesh is imposing up to ₹20,000 towards green tax which is only ₹200 in neighbouring states.
“We have been requesting the state government to reduce quarterly tax and green tax in view of the severe hardships being faced by the lorry owners post pandemic but the state government is again proposing to increase the taxes which are already on higher side. The transport sector in Andhra Pradesh is already crippled with high fuel prices and taxes and it will now perish if the new tax regime come into force,” said Eswar Rao.