Is your car or motorbike more than 15 years old? If yes, then, you may soon need to pay Green Tax, which is mandatory as per the proposal of the Centre.
The act that was approved by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is looking at reducing air pollution by deterring vehicle owners from using their old automobiles that contribute a lot towards making the air more harmful and polluted to breathe in.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, gave the thumbs up for the proposal that seeks to encourage citizens to shift to newer models of cars and motorcycles instead of the older variants, thereby helping in improving the air quality.
The proposal is now slated to reach different states to attaint their suggestion prior to its formalization through notices.
MoRT&H is issuing an advisory to States & UTs to impose Green Tax on older vehicles. It is proposed that Green Tax may be levied on commercial vehicles that are more than 8 years old & personal vehicles more than 15 years old.
— MORTHINDIA (@MORTHIndia) January 25, 2021
With this, the Centre is aiming at introducing the methodology of polluters paying for pollution through their old vehicles, which release many harmful gases, dangerous for human survival.
As per the proposal, at the time when a person seeks the renewal of Registration Certification after 15 years, all personal vehicle owners will have to pay the Green Tax. Meanwhile, transport vehicles that are more than 8 years old will be taxed when owners arrive for the renewal of the Fitness Certificate. They will be charged at a rate of 10-25% of the road tax.
The Ministry, in the proposal, said, “Public transport vehicles, such as city buses, will be charged lower Green Tax. There will be a higher Green tax (50 percent of Road Tax) for vehicles being registered in highly polluted cities. The tax will be different depending on fuel (petrol/ diesel) and type of vehicle.”
Nevertheless, this doesn’t imply to certain vehicles, including electric vehicles, strong hybrids, and those running on alternate fuels like CNG, LPG, and ethanol, as they do not contribute much to pollution. This special exemption is also bestowed upon vehicles utilized during farming, like harvesters, tillers, and tractors.
According to the Ministry’s statement, though commercial vehicles make up only around 5% of the total vehicles on road, they are the cause of 65-70% of the total pollution due to automobiles, making them a dangerous entity.
Vehicles manufactured prior to 2000, the older batch of automobiles, take up less than 1% of the total number of vehicles’ figure. However, they still contribute nearly 15% of the total vehicular pollution. It highlighted that these aged automobiles release 10 to 25 times more polluted gases than modern age, newer models of vehicles.
The revenue generated by collecting the Green Tax will have an account of its own as the money would be utilized for resolving the pollution problem that is growing with each minute. Apart from this, it will also be used for states to establish state-of-the-art facilities for monitoring the emissions from different mediums.
The Ministry has approved a second policy that called for the registration and scrapping of those vehicles that are owned by government departments and PSUs and are more than 15 years old. The policy will be implemented from 1st April.
