AP’s Personal Cars Used As Taxis Denting State Revenue
Owners of these commercial vehicles must take them for fitness tests by paying a fee of nearly ₹335 every three months to determine their roadworthiness
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh is witnessing an increasing number of personal cars being used as taxis, raising concerns of road safety while denying taxes to the state exchequer due from taxis.
Personal cars have white number plates whose registration numbers are in black colour. There are many people who are hiring out their personal cars as taxis. Taxis are commercial vehicles with a yellow number plate whose registration number is in black colour.
Owners of these commercial vehicles must take them for fitness tests by paying a fee of nearly ₹335 every three months to determine their roadworthiness. Further, they have to pay tax of nearly ₹1,500 every three months. Similarly, transport vehicles should get insurance coverage by paying amounts ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 and taxes like CGST and SGST.
In other words, private cars being run as commercial vehicles illegally are denying the state exchequer the revenue that would otherwise accrue to the treasury.
In this regard, NTR district regional transport officer R. Praveen said, “We are keeping a close watch on personal vehicles being used for transporting people illegally. We are booking cases and imposing fines on such vehicles.”
A private car travel operator Hussain said, “We agree that the illegal practice of using personal cars as taxis is becoming rampant. Such cars are being driven by drivers who are not professionals. This is raising the number of road accidents,” Hussain pointed out.
He underlined that the state government must implement the norms very strictly and curb corruption. Only then commuters can enjoy safe travel.
Travel operators say that the earlier Jagan Mohan Reddy government used to give them financial aid of ₹10,000 per annum. They used this amount to get insurance coverage for the transport vehicle.
“With no such aid at present, it is becoming a tough task to spare nearly ₹25,000 for transport vehicle maintenance, taxes and insurance coverage every year. This is one of the reasons why personal cars are being used as taxis,” another driver underlined.