School and college buses operated by private education institutions in the city may no longer enjoy concessional rate of tax, which is collected on the floor area of the vehicle. The Transport Department is contemplating increasing the tax slab for buses used to ferry students of private educational institutions by considering them as private service vehicles.
The State government, while presenting the budget, had proposed a 50% increase in floor area and the department is now thinking of including vehicles owned by private educational institutions as well. If the department goes ahead, private educational institutes are likely to shift the additional burden to students by increasing transportation fees.
Across Karnataka, private education institutions have registered 22,750 vehicles out of which a majority — 10,905 — are in Bengaluru. There are 18,124 private vehicles to ferry employees of companies and factories, out which 11,331 are registered in Bengaluru alone.
Transport Minister D.C. Thammanna told The Hindu , “For years, private education institutions in the State have been getting concessional tax. It is a fact that a majority of the educational institutions, including medical and engineering colleges, collect a huge amount of money from students for this service. Transport fee paid per year is anywhere between ₹15,000 and ₹20,000 per year. With this being the case, there is nothing wrong in increasing the tax slab on these vehicles.”
However, the minister maintained the tax slabs will be different depending on the types of private institutions and whether it is in a rural or urban area. “I have asked officials to work on this proposal and come out with a report. We are open to suggestions on increasing the tax slab. A decision will be taken in the coming days," he said.
D. Shashi Kumar, general secretary, Associated Management of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said, “The move by the State government is unscientific and illogical, as they are planning to treat vehicles to ferry students on par with commercial vehicles. Putting them in a higher tax slab will put parents in hardship, as the additional burden gets transferred to them. We will definitely oppose the move and also explore legal options.”
