‘Green’ tax mooted for personal vehicles older than 15 years

May vary on type of fuel, vehicle; transport vehicles older than 8 years to pay levy

January 25, 2021 10:28 pm | Updated 10:58 pm IST - NEW DELHI

Diluted norms: A new scrappage policy will apply to PSU- and govt.-owned vehicles older than 15 years. file photo

Diluted norms: A new scrappage policy will apply to PSU- and govt.-owned vehicles older than 15 years. file photo

Owners of old vehicles will have to pay the government a ‘green’ tax as a penalty for polluting the environment, which will be much steeper if you reside in one of the more polluted cities in India.

The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has approved a proposal to levy a ‘green tax’ on old vehicles.

Personal vehicles will be charged a tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years. The levy may differ depending on fuel (petrol/diesel) and type of vehicle. The proposal will now go to the States for consultation before it is formally notified. It includes 10-25% of road tax on transport vehicles older than eight years at the time of renewal of fitness certificate.

The proposal on green tax also includes steeper penalty of up to 50% of road tax for older vehicles registered in some of the highly polluted cities in the country. The Minister also approved a watered-down policy of deregistration and scrapping of vehicles, bringing only those vehicles owned by government departments and PSUs and are older than 15 years under its ambit.

‘Effective April 1’

The policy will come into effect from April 1, 2022.

In 2016, the Centre had floated a draft Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernisation Programme that aimed to take 28 million decade-old vehicles off the road. A panel of secretaries suggested the scheme may combine a phased regulatory approach for capping the life of vehicles along with stricter emission norms.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.