Hyderabad: Private bus operators want the Centre to draw up guidelines for an alternative tax structure if the permit system is withdrawn. Union finance minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union Budget on Monday last had said that the ‘permit raj’ would be withdrawn.
Private operators pay quarterly tax per seat to the transport department as part of the permit system. They are allowed to operate buses as contract carriages, which basically means not having stage-stops.
Telangana Private Bus Operators Association president Syed Nizamuddin said removing the permit system was a bad idea and would hit the sector. RTC unions, too, oppose the proposal to do away with permit system saying it would deal a death blow to the corporation.
Mr Nizamuddin said: “If the permit system is removed, anyone can operate vehicles on any route. This means if someone has two cars, he or she can operate them as transport vehicles to carry passengers. The Centre should give clarity,” he said.
Telugu Desam MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy, whose family owns a large fleet of buses, said he would go through the proposal before commenting on it. Andhra Pradesh TD MP Kesineni Nani, who also runs a major fleet of buses, said he would react after getting details.
