Owners of about one crore vehicles, who have paid life tax can heave a sigh of relief as authorities have permitted free movement of these vehicles between the fledgling Telangana State and the residuary State of Andhra Pradesh without payment of further tax.
Disclosing this, a senior official of the Transport Department said the Government Order dated June 1, stipulated that even if such vehicles were transferred/sold subsequently further life tax need not be paid. As of now, an estimated 1.4 crore vehicles of different categories criss-cross from places like Adilabad to Srikakulam and Anantapur and Ranga Reddy to Chittoor. The order was a welcome move on the part of the Government, he said.
Also, Government of AP issued another order the same day, stipulating that “quarterly tax paid for any quarter till March 13, 2015 in any of the successor States shall be deemed to have been paid for both the States and thereafter, new Governments to decide.” Now this comes as an even greater relief for people in general because it would have otherwise impacted prices of commodities including fruits and vegetables on one hand, to materials like sand on the other, he added.
Another official pointed out that if commercial vehicle operators who paid quarterly tax in either State were asked to pay up a similar tax again in the other State, it would have had a cascading effect on the sale price of the commodities being transported. For example, it would have meant a 40 to 50 per cent increase in price of fruits from East Godavari district sold in Hyderabad, or 20 to 30 per cent more on cost of sand from Krishna, Guntur and East Godavari districts that is preferred in Hyderabad and surroundings.
