The LDF government in Kerala on Monday notified the imposition of a green tax on transport vehicles that are more than ten years old and non-transport vehicles that are more than 15 years old from 01 Jan 2017.
State Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac had earlier announced the said tax while presenting the revised 2016-17 Kerala budget in the state Legislative Assembly. At the time, Dr. Isaac had made clear that a green tax would be collected in the course of re-registration of older vehicles.
The prescribed tax rates are:
Transport Category
Rs. 200 - Light motor vehicles
Rs. 300 – Medium
Rs. 400 – Heavy
Non-transport Category
Rs.400 for five years
The same was expected to bring in around Rs. 7 crores annually to the state Motor Vehicle Department (MVD). While two-wheelers and three-wheelers have been exempted from its ambit, vehicles registered in other states that fall into the said category too have to pay the tax at state-entry check posts.
This move by the Left government is to reportedly keep pollution caused by the use of older vehicles under check. Refuting the charges that the said tax is supposed to eventually dissuade people from continuing to use old vehicles, state Transport Commissioner S Ananthakrishnan told The News Minute that their primary aim was to protect the environment.
"We do not intend to discourage the use of old vehicles though this tax. It would not be possible to do so with such a paltry sum. We would use the money collected to organise environment-friendly initiatives,” he said.
First recommended by a State Planning Board sub-committee headed by E Sreedharan during the previous UDF government tenure, the tax was proposed to aid in decongestion of the state roads. At present, there are almost 99 lakhs registered vehicles plying on the roads in Kerala.
All vehicles that do not comply with the new rule will not have access to any services provided by the MVD. Vehicles that seek exemption from the tax have to submit a G-Form 30 days in advance.