THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Transport Minister A K Saseendran has written to the Centre against the proposal to introduce a uniform motor vehicle tax system across the states without proper deliberations.
“This proposal gains significance in the backdrop of the GST which is not beneficial or fruitful to the state as on today,” he said in a letter to the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari.
As per Article 246(3) and entry 57 in list II - state list of the Constitution of India, only the state legislature is competent to make laws regarding taxation of vehicles. Hence any attempt on the part of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, to legislate on Motor Vehicle Taxes and thereby harmonise the tax rates of motor vehicles is unconstitutional and violate the basic principles of the Constitution.
The total revenue collected by the MVD in the year 2017-18 was `3651.8 crore. Out of this, an amount of 2,129.8 crore was received by way of one time tax from motorcycle, motor cars, PSV for personal use, construction equipment vehicles and taxis.
In Kerala, Saseendran said, 6 pc to 20 pc of the value of the vehicle is fixed as the rate of tax. If the above rate of tax is fixed from 8 pc to 12 pc as recommended by the GoM, the revenue of the state will be badly affected and the income will be reduced by about `150 crore per year, he said. The proposed system of national permit for contract carriages operating inter-state will also badly affect the revenue of the state, he said.