Vehicle owners owe a huge sum in arrear taxes

Vehicle owners of the state owe the state government hundreds of crores of rupees by way of motor vehicles taxes
Vehicle owners owe a huge sum in arrear taxes

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Vehicle owners of the state owe the state government hundreds of crores of rupees by way of motor vehicles taxes, with the defaulters including major construction and other firms as well as owners of luxury vehicles.

In view of the fact that the defaulters have not cleared their respective dues despite repeated reminders, the Transport Department will launch a massive campaign across the state against the defaulters from February 1 next.

Official sources said that the outstanding arrear motor vehicle taxes in Kamrup (M) alone amount to over Rs 120 crore. If districts such as Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh etc., are taken into account, then the total amount of such arrear dues in the state will be around Rs 200 crore, the sources said.

The sources said that the government is laying thrust on collection of various motor vehicle taxes and has consequently made the tax-collection system online. In the financial year 2019-20, the tax collection by the Transport Department across the state was Rs 874 crore. However, the sources informed that tax collection decreased in 2020-21 and 2021-2022 due to the Covid pandemic, and added that tax collection is expected to increase again by the end of the ongoing financial year.

The sources said that some major construction companies operate heavy vehicles such as JCBs, dumpers etc., but do not pay the motor vehicle taxes despite being given repeated reminders.

According to the sources, motor vehicles taxes are calculated on the basis of various factors such as engine capacity, seating capacity, unladen and laden weight, cost price of the vehicle etc. The motor vehicle density on the roads of Assam significantly increased from 6.8 per sq km of roads in 2001 to 56.3 per sq km of roads in 2021. Motor vehicles on the roads in the state reached 44.18 lakh as on March, 2021, out of which around 65 per cent are two-wheelers.

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