Long-overdue payments: Transport department pushes the pedal to recover unpaid vehicle tax

Kolkata: The state Transport department is making a concerted effort to recover unpaid road taxes, particularly from owners of high-end vehicles with long-overdue payments.

Currently, road tax arrears, including penalties, amount to approximately Rs 80 crore.

“We have been sending SMSs to the owners of these vehicles from time to time requesting them to pay off their pending tax. We have found out that the majority of owners of expensive cars like Audi, Mercedes Benz, BMW etc have been irregular in coughing up tax,” said Snehasis Chakraborty, state Transport minister.

The minister added that the enforcement team of the Transport department is also working on the collection of vehicle tax by intercepting them while plying on roads.

“The inspectors have been asked to explain politely about pending taxes when they intercept and in many cases, the owners have been paying their pending taxes. In cases, when it is found that vehicle documents are not proper, they are being advised in this regard,” added the minister.

An official in the Transport department said that when a person buys an expensive vehicle, the dealers usually make payment along with road tax for 5 years.

It is often the case that they forget after five years regarding payment of road tax and need a reminder for the same.

“If the vehicles pay road tax in a time-bound manner, then the state’s revenue increases. This revenue is channelised by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for people’s development,” said Chakraborty.