KOCHI: The proposed All-India Tourist Permit (AITP) Bill, which aims to curb the practice of registering buses in the north eastern states to take advantage of lower taxes there, is expected to benefit a majority of traditional private bus operators in Kerala. The bill proposes to make it mandatory for the vehicles registered in states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to operate at least one trip every 45 days to or from their home state.
“The strict enforcement will make the practice of registering buses in the North East less viable. As a result, the traditional operators in Kerala who are currently at a disadvantage due to higher local taxes would be able to compete on a more equal footing. This could help them regain some of the market share lost to the ‘outside’ operators,” Dijo Kappen, transport expert and chairman of the State Public Transport Protection Committee, told TNIE.
By forcing buses to register in the state where they primarily conduct operations, the bill would ensure that a larger portion of the road tax revenue goes to the Kerala government. This increased revenue could, in turn, be used to improve road infrastructure, bus terminals, and other transport-related facilities within the state, he pointed out.
Currently, many big private bus operators register their vehicles in states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland to take advantage of the significantly lower road taxes there. They then operate these buses primarily in other parts of the country, including South India, without contributing proportionate tax revenue to the states.
“The current system has led to unhealthy competition where some operators can offer lower fares because of their tax advantage, even if they don’t provide a superior service. The new bill will help end this unfair competition based on tax loopholes, and force operators to compete on the quality of their service. This could lead to an overall improvement in the quality of bus services,” said an owner of a prominent inter-state luxury bus operating group.
According to him, the difference in tax could be as high as Rs 8 to 9 lakh a year. “For instance, for a 36-berth luxury private bus, the tax in Kerala is Rs 1,08,000 a quarter, and Rs 4,32,000 a year. At the same time, the registration fee in Nagaland for the same category bus is less than Rs 50,000. An operator needs a minimum of two buses to conduct a single service with AITP licence. So the tax here would be around Rs 9.64 lakh as against the below-Rs 1 lakh in the north east states,” he said.
Bill to rein in AITP buses plying as stage carriers
The Bill also addresses issues like AITP buses operating as “stage carriers” (picking up and dropping off passengers along a particular route), which is a violation of the permit conditions. This practice, often seen in Kerala, leads to direct competition with local stage carriers and the state-run KSRTC. The new rules and the proposed monitoring using Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices would make it easier for authorities to crack down on such violations. This would protect the business of traditional private bus operators in Kerala who operate as stage carriers and adhere to their permitted routes and schedules. Another measure proposed by the bill is that the permits can be renewed only if the owner clears pending challans in 30 days, or he should approach the court, challenging the same.