Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Driving Schools Owners Federation (TNDSOF) has approached the Madras high court to declare as illegal the notification, issued by the Union government, enhancing the license fee in respect of driving schools and driving licence by 4 to 5 times from the existing fee structure.
A division bench comprising Justices S.Naga muthu and N.Authinathan before whom the petition filed by TNDSOF came up for hearing, ordered notice to the Union and state governments and posted toJanuary 23, further hearing of the case.
According to petitioner, besides imparting instructions in driving motor vehicles, the driving schools were assisting the individual to secure the driving license from the competent authority. For the purpose of securing learners license, driving license, license to drive transport vehicles and renewal thereof, certain fees has been prescribed under Rule 32 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules.
Majority of the people learning driving belong to economically backward classes. They learn for the purpose of employment and for their transport of moving in relation to work and education, the Federation added.
The Federation said the Union government had issued a notification dated December 29, 2016amending Rule 32 and fixed a new fee structure. Section 110 of the Motor Vehicles Act does not confer any jurisdiction or powers to the Union government to make amendment relating to the fee prescribed under Rule 32 of the Central Motor Vehicles Act. Therefore, the impugned notification was void ab initio.
The hike in fees has people connected with driving schools, people holding driving licenses and learners into serious hardship and inconvenience, the federation added.
The Federation said the petitioner’s schools have appropriate space with separate class rooms. Besides, they were equipped with apparatus, equipments and motor vehicles to instruct driving. Qualified instructors approved by the transport department were employed for teaching driving to students. Driving schools were catering to the requirement of more than 90 per cent of students obtaining driving licenses. In respect of a motor vehicle, the central government levy and collects excise duty for each vehicle at the manufacturer’s point. When the vehicle was sold from the dealers point, the end user pays the value added tax. Besides, the end user was liable to pay the Motor Vehicles Tax called as Road Tax. Further, the end user was paying tax for the fuel either petrol or diesel which includes Excise and VAT. In these circumstances, the state and central governments should issue the license by collecting a nominal fee. Therefore, the increase of the license fees was highly against the welfare of the society, the Federation added.
