The Centre has approved a proposal, which will lead to imposition of ‘Green Tax’ on old polluting vehicles.
The proposal was approved by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has informed that it will dispatch the proposal to every State in the Country for consultation before formal notification is issued.
As per the proposal, transport vehicles older than 8 years will be charged ‘Green tax’ at the time of renewal of fitness certificate.
The amount could be between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the road tax.
“Personal vehicles to be charged Green Tax at the time of renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years,” the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways informed.
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The revenue collected through the Green Tax “will be used to tackle pollution”.
Cars over 15 years old owned by various government departments and PSUs will be de-registered and scrapped.
The percentage of ‘Green Tax’ could go up to 50 per cent of the road tax, when a vehicle is re-registered in highly polluted cities.
Vehicles like hybrids, electric vehicles and ones which use alternate fuels like CNG, Ethanol, LPG etc are exempted from the ‘Green Tax’ purview.
Moreover, vehicles used for farming – tractor, harvester, tiller etc are also exempted as well.