Road tax to be charged on actual, not discounted price of vehicle: Panel

Chandigarh , March 29

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has said the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) is to charge lump sum one-time road tax on the actual price of the vehicle as given by the manufacturer excluding VAT and other taxes and not on the discounted price.

The commission clarified this while setting aside a District Commission order dated November 02, 2023 on a complaint by Punit Bansal, a city resident.

Bansal said on December 30, 2019 he had purchased a car and had applied for the registration with the RLA, Chandigarh. He was asked by the RLA to deposit Rs 4,28,934 as registration fees. He said the RLA had wrongly calculated a discounted amount of Rs11,78,000 for the registration fees. He said the basic cost of the car around Rs 40 lakh while the RLA had calculated the fee on the unit price of Rs 53,32,667.

He said the RLA had charged an additional registration fee of Rs 94,240. He alleged this act amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on part of the RLA.

The District Commission directed RLA to refund Rs 94,240 to the complainant along with an interest at 9 per cent per annum. The Commission also directed the RLA to pay an amount of Rs 7,000 to the complainant as compensation for agony and harassment and to pay an additional Rs 7000 to the complainant as costs of litigation.

The RLA has challenged the order on the ground that the tax was charged on the actual price of the vehicle as given by the manufacturer including discounted amount as per the notification and clarification issued by the Chandigarh Transport Department.

After hearing the arguments, the State Commission quashed the order of the District Commission.