The Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved 100% tax exemption on Motor Vehicle (MV) tax till December 31, 2020, for all stage carriage, mini, and school buses effective from March 23, 2020, to support private transport operators amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cabinet gave post-facto approval to the notification issued in June to exempt these vehicles from MV tax till May 19, 2020, and also okayed notification for further extension of tax exemption from May 20 to December 31, 2020, Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) informed on Wednesday.
The cabinet has also approved extension of the amnesty scheme, deferring payment of arrears of taxes, without interest and penalty, to March 31, 2021.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said the Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the notification dated June 1, 2020, reducing Motor Vehicle Tax of Stage Carriage Buses (Ordinary Buses) from Rs 2.80 to Rs 2.69 (per kilometre, per vehicle, per day).
The tax exemption given to the above stage carriage buses and buses of educational institutions/schools/colleges was expected to cost the state exchequer about Rs 66.05 crore. It may be recalled that during a meeting with Chief Minister on October 30, the private bus operators including stage carriage operators, mini-bus and school bus operators had sought extension of the Amnesty Scheme issued on June 1, 2020, as they could not avail benefit due to Covid-19. Under the Amnesty Scheme, the transporters were liable to pay tax on their vehicles from June 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 without any interest and penalty.
