Thousands of goods vehicle owners from Nalgonda, who operate to Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Bangalore and other parts of India, will now have to bear the brunt of the Motor Vehicle Tax.
With Andhra Pradesh too imposing the Motor Vehicle Tax on Telangana vehicles, the Telangana Lorry Owners’ Association president, Nukala Bhaskar Reddy, reiterated that it would be a huge burden for vehicle owners and one that would have to be passed on to the end consumer. Mr. Reddy said the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Goods Vehicle Owners’ Associations would chalk out a plan for agitation asking both governments to come to an understanding on the issue.
The vehicles being plied to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh from undivided Andhra Pradesh were being issued counter-signature vehicle permits for just Rs. 5,000 every quarter, based on mutual understanding between both the States.
“Telangana and Andhra Pradesh should also try to reach an understanding. They should restrict the Motor Vehicle Tax as far as possible as the imposition of tax could impact vehicle owners in a big way,” he said.
There are 300 parboiled rice mills in Miryalaguda, from where rice is exported to various parts of the country while paddy is also brought from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and other parts of the country for milling here.
There are also 20 cement industries along the Krishna river in Nalgonda district from where cement is sent across the country. Meanwhile, concrete, vegetables, fruits and other items of daily need are being exported and imported from the two States. Mr. Reddy urged the governments of both the States to conduct a meeting to sort out the issue as soon as possible.
‘Granite sector will be hit hard’The Andhra Pradesh government’s move to impose Motor Vehicle Tax on transport vehicles from Telangana is likely to spell doom for the movement of all trucks in general and the granite sector in particular.
In a district that is popular for the export of granite– Tan Brown, Maple Red and Coffee Brown varieties to other countries, mostly China from Kakinada port, the industry is reeling under crisis due to a slump in the international market.
Sri Venkatesh Granites (SVG) managing director Venugopal Karwa said the decision to collect Motor Vehicle Tax by the Andhra Pradesh government would have a serious impact on the granite industry in Karimnagar district.
Presently, an operator pays Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 tax per quarter for a 25-tonne truck. Now, it will be doubled as the truck has to pay Motor Vehicle Tax for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, he complained.
Karimnagar District Granites Quarry Owners’ Association president R. Tirupathi Goud said they would be forced to use the railway freight transportation, which is cheaper when compared to road transport, following the levy of Motor Vehicle Tax by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Every day, around 50 to 60 trucks go to Kakinada port via Sattupalli in Khammam district, paying tax for transportation of granite through sea, he said.
“We paid only Rs. 5,740 as Motor Vehicle Tax per truck for a period of three months and moved freely in 23 districts of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Now, we will be forced to pay additional Motor Vehicle Tax if we enter Andhra Pradesh, said Thota Satyanarayana, president of the Karimnagar district Lorry Owners’ Association. He added that truck operators were planning to secure national permit that cost only Rs. 16,000 per annum and move freely across the country.
‘We would have lost Rs. 480 cr. if MV Tax was not imposed’Introducing Motor Vehicle Tax for vehicles from Telangana coming into Andhra Pradesh, the AP government says it would have avoided doing so, if it could, but had to because there was no other alternative.
When contacted, Transport Commissioner N. Balasubramanyam said while they would net a revenue of just about Rs. 60 crore a year from Motor Vehicle Tax on vehicles from Telangana entering the State, they would have lost a whopping Rs. 480 crore if they had not. Expanding on this, he said, this was the figure they had arrived at based on a hypothecation because they feared the transport industry – vehicles et al, would shift from Vijayawada to Hyderabad.
Asked about what the move would mean for both the States, he said it would result in revenues of about Rs. 5 crore a month for AP and Rs. 4 crore a month for Telangana.
