Drive Without Borders : One Nation , One Road Tax Campaign

In a desperate attempt to help the people of the nation who want to move from one state to another, the group called Drive without Borders has started a campaign where a person will not need to pay the road tax again, for a vehicle which is moving from one state to another. They have taken up the initiative of getting the petition signed by one lakh people and sending it to the Union Transport minister, Nitin Gadkari.

According to the latest amendment in the Motor Vehicle Taxation Act by the Karnataka Government, when a person moves from any other state to Karnataka, he/she has to pay heavy lifetime tax if the vehicle has been on the road for over a period of 30 days, which is against the CMV 1988 which states that after moving the vehicle needs to be registered in the new state within 12 months. Also, the continuous checking of the non-state vehicles in Karnataka has created a fear in the minds of people who have moved from other states. A similar trend was seen in Telangana and in Gurgaon where people are expected to register their cars within 30 days or a hefty Lifetime tax will be levied on them. This, as told earlier is against the CMV 1988 which says that one needs to register the vehicle within 12 months instead of 30 days and no LTT would be charged.

Seeing this continuous change which has now taken place in Kerala also, the group came up with the petition to protect the constitutional rights of the citizens of the country. The petition has certain demands like –

1. A uniform tax should be levied on cars, taxis and two wheelers throughout India.
2. The lifetime tax should be abolished and a tax period of 1 to 15 years should be started according to what suits the needs of the people.
3. An online database should be maintained which would have all the registered vehicles mentioned in it so that if the vehicle moves from one state to another, the process of transfer could be initiated and the person doesn’t have to pay the tax again.
4. The goods vehicles or passenger vehicles which move from one state to another should have national permit so that the local officials could not harass them and try to levy tax on them.
5. Also, tax should not be levied on the temporary interstate movement of vehicles for a period of three months.
6. To revoke the amendment made by the Karnataka government, which is not in accordance with CMV rules and levies hefty lifetime tax on non-state vehicles after a period of one month of moving to the state.

This petition may actually work in the interest of the people of the country as it safeguards their interests and due to the uniformity across the country the practices of independent tax systems in particular states will be stopped.

Benefits of the Drive without Borders petition –

1. People will start buying vehicles in their hometowns because the percentage of tax is comparatively lower than the rest of the country.
2. Having the database in place will make the movement of the vehicles from one state to the other hassle-free and the refund of the road tax could be initiated without any delay.
3. It will be easier for the people to keep a track of the tax and they will be free to take their vehicle with them when they move without having to think about saving the money from lifetime tax.

Fighting for your rights, especially when you know you are not wrong is the best thing to do and right now this petition is probably in need of some serious support. This petition will not only help the people who have taken the initiative, but everybody who plans to move from one state to another. The Drive without Borders group is trying to save you from undue taxes and unfair charges, now would be the time for you to do something too.