Auto union meet against 'one-time tax', brace for disruptions in Noida today

NOIDA: The Noida auto union has called a meeting at the regional transport office in Sector 33 on Tuesday to protest against the enforcement of 'one-time road tax' for commercial vehicles.
Chaudhury Om Prakash, president of the union, said that the earlier system of annual payments suited auto drivers. "Earlier, auto drivers used to pay an annual road tax of Rs 1,800.Now the transport department has asked us to pay around Rs 18,000 as a one-time road tax for 10 years. It is very difficult for auto drivers to pay a huge sum of money at one time. We strongly oppose the enforcement and demand the officials to reconsider the move," he said.
Prakash also that the duration of the auto permit in Noida should be brought on a par with Delhi. At present, an auto permit is valid for 15 years in Delhi and for 10 years in Noida.
Rachna Yaduvanshi, ARTO (administration) said that the move will shed queues at the transport department. "Earlier the transport department used to get taxes in annual mode. In that case, vehicle owners had to come to the office to pay tax every year. This was a time consuming process," she said.
Yaduvanshi said that the department has received information of the auto union's proposed meet. "We will listen to their demands and take the necessary steps," she said.
She added that the one-time tax for autos will be proportional to the years of validity of auto permit.
"This means, if an auto has five years of permit left, the owner will have to pay the road tax for the same number of years. We will not charge them the entire amount."