Malda taking steps to collect about Rs 265 cr due motor vehicles tax

Malda: Malda is taking multiple steps, including setting up camps, campaign through tableau to collect the motor vehicle taxes pending about Rs 265 crore. As the state government declared, the defaulters will be given penalty waivers for late payment of the vehicle taxes.

Further, a special cell has been opened in the district transport office to call the defaulter vehicle owners to update their taxes taking the waiver scheme opportunity. Five officials of the Transport department have been deployed in this cell to call the vehicle owners and ask them to pay the due amount of taxes.

More than 33,000 vehicles in the district have failed to clear taxes and 1350 vehicles do not have permits with more than 24,000 vehicles due for a fitness test. As a result, many vehicles are running irregularly across Malda district. In such a situation, the district Transport department outstretched its arms to collect the outstanding taxes.

Two special camp offices of the department have been opened at Mahadipur in English Bazar and Jalangi in Old Malda.

Awareness is also being created through miking and distributing leaflets from a tableau. Suraj Kumar Das, Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Malda, said: “If the car owners do not settle the outstanding tax by February 29 this year, strict action will be taken as per the law from then onwards. Penalties will be waived for those who clear their tax arrears by February.”

Since the special initiative has been taken, an average of Rs 10 lakh of outstanding tax is being deposited everyday on an average. An amount of 75 crore is due for taxes and if the penalty is excluded, the amount reduces to Rs 37.5 crore. Also, about 190 crore, including fines is due for fitness and excluding the fine, the tax amount stands at Rs 21 crore.