KOCHI: The path-breaking order by the NGT banning registration of diesel vehicles of 2000 cc and above in the State will cause a loss of around Rs 500 crore to the State exchequer annually.
According to the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD), as many as 8.5 lakh vehicles were registered in the State in 2015-16. Of the Rs 3,000 crore the MVD received as registration fees during the year, diesel vehicles of 2000 cc and above contributed around Rs 500 crore. “As much as 60 per cent of all the vehicles registered in the State were motorcycles, while 25 per cent were below 2000 cc. The remaining 15 percent, which is approximately 127,500 vehicles, belong to the above-2000cc category. If the order is implemented, it would result in the government losing Rs 500 crore every year as registration fees,” said a top official of the MVD.
According to him, most of the vehicles that are above 2000 cc cost more than 15 lakh, and customers are required to pay 15 per cent of the price as road tax alone. “Currently, most of the above-2000cc vehicles are available in diesel version. If the NGT order comes into force, makers of the high-end diesel vehicles will reduce capacity of the vehicles to below 2000 cc, thereby curtailing the government’s revenue,” he added.
In addition, the MVD will suffer loss in the form of annual tax. “Around 10,000 private buses that are more than ten years old will go off the road, causing a loss of Rs 100 crore to the MVD in the next five years - on an average tax remittance of Rs 1 lakh/bus/year - as the new order calls for reduction of the maximum limit from 15 years to ten years,” said Deputy Transport Commissioner B J Antony.