Chandigarh,December 2: The Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 percent exemption fromthe Motor Vehicle tax for state stage carriage buses and buses of educationalinstitutions/school/college buses till December 31, 2020, effective from March23, to support private transport operators amid the Covid pandemic. The cabinetgave post-facto approval to the notification issued in June to exempt thesevehicles from MV tax till May 19, 2020, and also okayed notification forfurther extension from May 20 to December 31, 2020.
The cabinethas also approved extension of the Amnesty scheme, deferring payment of arrearsof taxes, without interest and penalty, to March 31, 2021.
Disclosingthis here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that theCabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the notification dated June 1,2020, reducing Motor Vehicle Tax of Stage Carriage Buses (Ordinary Buses) fromRs. 2.80 to Rs. 2.69 (Per Kilometre, Per Vehicle, Per Day). It further gaveex-post facto approval to another notification dated June 2, 2020, by whichMotor Vehicle Tax exemption was given to Educational Institutions, Schools,College buses, Mini buses, Maxi Cab and Three Wheelers from March 23, 2020 toMay 19, 2020.
Theexemption given to the above Stage Carriage buses and buses of EducationalInstitutions/ Schools/ College was expected to cost the state exchequer aboutRs. 66.05 Crore.
It may berecalled that during a meeting with Chief Minister on October 30, the privatebus operators including stage carriage operators, Mini bus and school busoperators had sought extension of Amnesty Scheme issued on June 1, 2020, asthey could not avail the benefit due to Covid-19. Under the Amnesty Scheme, thetransporters were liable to pay tax on their vehicles from June 1, 2020 to June30, 2020 without any interest and penalty.
Thetransporters had also apprised the Chief Minister that fewer people aretravelling nowadays due to the pandemic which led to huge financial losses astheir buses were not plying on the roads to full capacity. Hence, it wasdecided in the meeting to grant 100 percent tax exemption to all types of stagecarriage buses and educational institutions (Schools and Colleges) buses fromMay 20, 2020 to December 31, 2020.