Vehicles become costly in UP after govt hikes road tax

All vehicles, except the solar-powered or battery-operated ones meant for private use, now cost more in Uttar Pradesh as the state government has hiked the road tax for all types of private and commercial vehicles.

The new rates have come into effect from yesterday.

Till now, 5% of the cost of a private diesel vehicle was being charged as road tax. For a petrol variant, this was 2.5%.

As per the order issued by the principal secretary, transport, tax at the rate of five to seven per cent of the cost of a vehicle will be charged as road tax in the state.

"This tax will depend on the unladen weight of the vehicle," sources said.

For instance, on vehicles having unladen weight of upto 1000kg, tax at the rate of 5% of the actual cost will be charged.

Similarly, six per cent tax will be charged on vehicles having unladen weight between 1,000 to 5,000kg, whereas 7% tax will be imposed on vehicles having unladen weight of more tahn 5,000kg, they said.

Also, road tax being charged on two-wheelers had been linked with the cost of the vehicle. As against the flat Rs1,600  being charged so far as road tax at the time of registration, five per cent of the vehicle will be charged as tax.

In a bid to promote public transport, the government had reduced the tax charged from city buses by 70%, whereas CNG taxies operating in the National Capital Region have been exempted from the tax net, sources said.

Instead of charging tax under different categories on commercial vehicles, the government has introduced a composite tax system.

Under the new system, a goods carrier will be required to pay tax at the rate of Rs 230 per tonne, however, they will get a rebate of 10% on annual payment of the tax amount.

Similarly, three-wheelers, which were being charged at the rate of Rs395 quartely, will be required to pay Rs 1,800 as annual tax.

For three-wheelers one time tax will amount to Rs16,200, whereas annual tax on tempos had been hiked to Rs3,600 from exisiting Rs3,160.