Even as the government is promoting cashless transactions post-demonetisation, a proposal of the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) to introduce point of sale terminals (PoS) to collect quarterly tax of transport vehicles has been caught in red tape.
The MVD submitted the proposal to introduce PoS terminals in 73 offices - 18 regional transport offices (RTO) and 55 sub-RTO offices - in February this year.
The State Bank of Travancore even came up with a software for the MVD to roll out cashless transactions for those owning stage carriers, lorries, trucks, taxies, jeeps, and autorickshaws.
The initiative came in the wake of adverse comments by the CAG that the amount being collected quarterly as tax from transport vehicles through Demand Draft (DD) was reaching the account only after a month, which was causing loss to the exchequer.
MVD objective
With the introduction of PoS, the MVD aimed at avoiding queues in banks (to obtain DD) and in RTO offices. The owners of these vehicles can save the money paid in banks for taking DD. Besides, the dependence on touts and agents can be avoided. The quarterly tax for a stage carrier is ₹ 34,000.
An MVD official told The Hindu that the proposal was being held back by the Finance Department citing the T+2 rule. As per the rule, cash collected through a PoS terminal would reach the designated account only next day.
Unlike in the case of mercantile establishment and institutions, the tax collected from the vehicle owners will have to reach accounts of various departments, as cess is also being levied for various purposes. This will need modifications and it can be done, the official admits.
At check-posts
The MVD has now decided to roll out PoS terminals in 19 check-posts across the State and for the enforcement squads on the field. Motorists will be able to pay fine by credit or debit cards if they are booked , the official said.
The file for the PoS terminal is awaiting clearance of the government at a time when an intensive campaign by Akshaya, designated by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as the nodal agency for the Go Cashless campaign, to promote digital payment platforms is on.
