The transport department in Karnataka had enforced a new rule in 2014 under the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act. It mandated owners of non-Karnataka registered private vehicles to pay lifetime road tax within 30 days of entering the state. The transport department has has reportedly collected over Rs 100 crores through LTT and penalties over the last two years.
The Karnataka high court has now quashed the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act declaring it unconstitutional. Justice Anand Byrareddy delivered the verdict after considering a petition signed by over 77,000 people. Justice Byrareddy said, “Lifetime tax that is levied at the point of registration of a vehicle as per the KMVT Act cannot be levied on a vehicle that is already registered, merely on a presumption that a vehicle registered outside Karnataka has remained in the State for a period exceeding 30 days.”
The petition was organized by Waseem Memon of the ‘Drive Without Borders’ movement. Memon started the initiative after the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act was issued in 2014. According to a report by thebetterindia, Memon started the initiative as a one man army. He spent a lot of time with lawyers and government officials despite a regular nine-to-five job. More people joined the initiative and it grew stronger by the day. The Drive Without Borders group launched several campaigns to protest the lifetime road-tax rule.
The latest ruling by Karnataka’s high court is indeed a great victory for the group.
