Kerala is set to flag its concerns over the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) rule for new registration ‘IN’ series for vehicles to ease the transfer of registration of vehicles from one State to another in case of relocation of the registered owner.
The new series, replacing the State code with a pan-India ‘IN’ code for personal vehicles, is aimed at easing the complex re-registration processes under Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Now, an individual who has moved States has to re-register the vehicle to the State she/he has moved to after 12 months.
The new “IN” series is for defence personnel, Central and State government employees, and personnel of Central and State public sector units and private sector companies with offices in five or more States or Union Territories.
There will be a standard motor vehicle tax across the country for these vehicles with two years’ initial road tax and then in multiples of two years. Thus, road tax on a new car getting registered with the ‘IN’ series will be substantially lower than on a car with a State registration that has one-time road tax for 15 years.
A uniform road tax rate has been proposed which will be 8% for vehicles under ₹10 lakh, 10% for those valued between ₹10-20 lakh, and 12% for vehicles above ₹20 lakh. Diesel cars will have to pay 2% additional tax while electric vehicles will get 2% discount.
‘IN’ vehicles will not have to be re-registered if the owner moves to another State and it can be opted for new and existing vehicles, according to MoRTH.
The Transport Department is of the view that the initiative will cause loss to the exchequer as road tax is less for ‘IN’ series personal vehicles and there will also be a fall in the GST revenue.
“We have decided to seek clarity on allowing employees of private sector companies with offices in five or more States or Union Territories. Clear benchmarks are needed as this option can be misused by even a staff of a hotel chain having five units in different States to claim tax concessions,” says Joint Transport Commissioner Rajeev Puthalath.
The State will also seek clarification on whether those having ‘IN’ registration will have to re-register if they come to another State after retirement.
