New vehicle owners to pay up to 10k road safety tax from March

Hyderabad: Buyers of non-transport vehicles in Telangana will soon have to pay a one-time road safety cess ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 at the time of vehicle registration. The levy, which comes into effect from March 1, will apply to two-wheelers, cars, other private vehicles, and passenger autorickshaws.
As per the notification, the cess structure has been categorised based on vehicle type. Two-wheelers will attract 2,000, light motor vehicles, including cars, will be charged 5,000, while other vehicles, including passenger autos with seating capacity of four to seven persons, will have to pay 10,000. The amount will be collected during the registration process.The transport department issued orders on Wednesday night, invoking the state's powers under the Motor Vehicles Act to levy taxes.Officials said the initiative is aimed at creating a dedicated funding stream for road safety measures, including infrastructure improveme-nts, stronger enforcement, and accident-prevention programmes. The move is expected to support targeted interventions in accident-prone locations and enhance overall road safety management.In a related change, three-wheeled goods vehicles have been brought under the life-tax category, replacing the earlier quarterly tax system. The restructuring is likely to simplify compliance for owners and streamline tax collection. The govt estimates the road safety cess will generate around 270 crore annually. Tractors and trailers used exclusively for agricultural purposes have been exempted from the levy.Additionally, the govt has revised the tax structure for four-wheeled light goods vehicles. All new such vehicles registered in Telangana will now attract a life tax of 7.5% of the vehicle cost. For vehicles brought from other states, those under three years old will be taxed at 6.5% of cost, those between three and six years at 5%, and vehicles older than six years at 4%.