Punjab CM Announces 100 Percent Vehicle Tax Waiver for Bus Operators Till December 31

In a major relief to bus operators in Punjab, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered 100 per cent waiver on motor vehicle tax till December 31 for all stage carriage, mini and school buses, while deferring payment of arrears of taxes without interest and penalty till March 31, 2021.

The move will result in financial benefits totalling Rs 100 crore to the transport sector, an official spokesperson said.

The Chief Minister also directed Transport Minister Razia Sultana to discuss and resolve other issues concerning private minibus owners by next week.

The decisions were announced by the Chief Minister at a virtual conference with private transport associations in the state.

Besides Razia, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal and Transport Secretary K Siva Prasad were present at the meeting.

In the past few months, auto manufacturers have been raising issues about high GST rates that are keeping people from buying vehicles. According to a top Tata Motors executive, any kind of support from the government in terms of GST reduction would help the passenger vehicle segment immensely as it would negate some of the price increase in vehicle prices due to the shift to stricter BS-VI emission norms.

In an interview with PTI, Tata Motors President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Shailesh Chandra said the reduction in vehicle prices would even help end customers who have been facing various pressures owing to the current state of the economy.

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“Due to this transition from BS IV to BS VI, there has been a significant escalation in cost. In these trying times customers are not very confident about the outlook how the future is going to be including their salaries and jobs. “On top of that there has been an increase in vehicle prices. It definitely impacts the industry immensely and any support by the government to reduce GST to offset some of the price increase will definitely boost the whole PV industry," Chandra noted.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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