Govt waives annual tracking device fee for all commercial passenger vehicles

New Delhi: In a significant move to alleviate financial burdens on public vehicle operators, the Delhi government has announced the exemption of the annual fee for Vehicle Location Tracking Devices (VLTDs) for all public passenger vehicles. This decision follows a new agreement between the Delhi Transport Department and the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which will now oversee the tracking and monitoring of these devices.

Previously, vehicle owners were required to pay an annual fee of Rs 1,200 plus 18 per cent GST, totalling Rs 1,416. This exemption will benefit approximately 1.5 lakh public vehicle operators across the Capital.

Transport minister Kailash Gahlot explained the impact of the decision, stating, “This exemption is a significant step towards easing the financial burden on public vehicle owners while ensuring the safety and security of passengers, especially women and children.” He further emphasised that leveraging advanced technology like VLTDs is crucial for enhancing public transportation safety and efficiency.

Gahlot highlighted that the Delhi government had previously waived the annual tracking fee for one lakh auto-rickshaws and yellow-top taxis in 2019. With the new waiver, the government aims to include all public vehicles under this exemption. “We have now made a historic decision to waive the annual fee for the tracking device for approximately 1.5 lakh public vehicles,” Gahlot noted. The Transport minister also pointed out that the contract with Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Limited (DIMTS) has ended. NIC will now handle tracking operations and manage the command centre for these devices. “Earlier, tracking was done by DIMTS, but now NIC will manage this work and look after all command centre operations,” Gahlot added.

In addition to the current exemption, the Kejriwal government has previously implemented several relief measures for auto and taxi drivers, including reducing the fees for speed governors, fitness tests, and vehicle registration. For instance, the fee for fitness certificates was reduced from Rs 2,500 to Rs 500. “Similarly, in 2019, we removed the Rs 200 fitness fee for auto drivers and the Rs 400 fee for taxi drivers,” Gahlot said.