Non-Karnataka vehicles: High Court upholds earlier verdict

Bengaluru: In a relief to the owners of non-Karnataka registration vehicles in the State, the High Court on Friday upheld the order of a single judge bench, which had quashed the demand notices issued by the Regional Transport Office to several owners of such vehicles, asking them to pay lifetime tax for using the vehicle in Karnataka beyond 30 days. The court had also held Karnataka Motor Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Act, 2014 as unconstitutional and ultra vires.

The state government had appealed against the order of the single judge bench, which the division bench headed by Justice Jayant M Patel dismissed it on Friday. “Lifetime tax is levied at the point of registration of a vehicle. 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 singe judge had ordered, which was challenged by the state in its appeal.

The amendment Act which was proposed in the 2014-2015 state budget to regulate vehicles that are not registered in Karnataka with an aim to increase the revenue by collecting lifetime tax was initially challenged by Ananth Karatparambil, owner of a non-Karnataka registered vehicle and others before the court. The owners of such vehicles had contended that amendment was brought only to harass them.

As per the Section 40 and 47 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the lifetime tax continues to be dependent on registration or re-registration. The court had said that the Explanation 2 (extracts of the amendment) to section 3 of the KMVT Act inserted by the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act, 2014 is unconstitutional and ultra vires.