Karnataka mulls exemption from road tax for electric cars

Gujarat, Delhi and Goa have already extended road tax exemption to electric vehicles

The Karnataka government is likely to exempt electric vehicles from paying road tax and value added tax. The department of transport is in the process of sending a recommendation in this regard.

“The governments of Gujarat, Delhi and Goa have already extended road tax exemptions to electric vehicles, including passenger cars and two-wheelers. We are also working in the same direction as part of our efforts to contribute to the environment as electric vehicles do not emit carbon dioxide. We will very soon send a proposal to the state government in this regard,” said K Amaranarayana, Commissioner for Transport and Road Safety, government of Karnataka.

Responding to a query at the annual convention of Society for Automotive Fitness & Environment (SAFE), a SIAM initiative, here on Friday, he said the department of transport was in active dialogue with the state government for providing relief in road tax to electric car buyers as done in many other states. “We are building a proposal. We have to inform the government about the intangible benefits of electric vehicles such as zero carbon emission and safety to passengers. We will submit our report very soon as advised by the chief secretary,” he said.

Presently, only Mahindra Reva manufactures electric passenger cars in the country. The company has made many representations to the state government to exempt electric cars from paying road tax and VAT.

Amaranarayana said the department has also extended the trial run of electric bus run by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC). The bus is manufactured and provided to BMTC by Chinese company BYD. BYD is the largest supplier of rechargeable batteries in the world.

“Both BYD and BMTC had requested for extending the trial run. The BMTC has already tested the vehicle for three months and it wants to continue the study on the usability of the electric bus for some more time. So, we have given them two more months,” he said. He, however, said there has been no decision on buying the electric bus by the BMTC.

This bus, he said, produces very little noise and causes no pollution. The commuters are happy with the performance of the bus and the comfort and safety it offers, he added.

As part of the environment initiatives, he said, the transport department would take on rent 10 electric cars for regional transport officers in the state on a trial basis. The officers will use these cars on a trial basis before purchasing more for the transport department, he said.

Amaranarayana also uses an electric car and the department was in the process of setting up a solar bunk for charging electric cars in the BMTC campus, he said.

B Dayanand, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said the department, in an effort to curb traffic violations, had recommended to the government to increase the penalty charged on various offences like parking violations, signal jumps and drunken drive among others. Presently, only Rs 100 is charged for most of the offences and people are not bothered about paying the penalty and there is no let up in the number of traffic violations, he said.

As part of the efforts to ease traffic congestion and ensure smooth flow of traffic in Bangalore, he said, the police department would install surveillance cameras in 100 more traffic signals in addition to the 175 signals already fitted with such cameras.