About seventeen
per cent of the estimated five crore vehicles pay road tax annually.
This is so because the transport vehicles have to obtain fitness
certificate annually and the permit for their plying on roads
is contingent on such vehicles proving their fitness. Annual
payment of tax is paid at the time of obtaining the fitness
certificate. There is no plan to bring these vehicles in the
one-time road tax zone.
During the
30th meeting of the Transport Development Council
(TDC) held on 16.1.2003, the States agreed to the need for regulating
the bus body building activity based on Standard Code of Practice
for Bus Body Design. For pollution control, it was agreed to
introduce measurement of Hydrocarbon emissions, as also to tighten
emission norms, in respect of post 2000 new generation vehicles.
The States, however, did not favour the rationalisation of taxes
on grounds of revenue loss.
This information
was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for
Road Transport and Highways, Maj. Gen. (Retd.) B.C. Khanduri
in a written reply to a question of Shri Nana Deshmukh in Rajya
Sabha today.
