Maharashtra: Revised one-time tax structure to make many vehicles costlier

Mumbai: High-end cars, CNG/LNG vehicles and goods carriers will become more expensive from July 1 due to the revised one-time tax structure of the Maharashtra government, officials said on Monday.

While the present cap for one-time tax was Rs 20 lakh, it is now Rs 30 lakh, which means cars with an ex-showroom price of more than Rs 20 lakh will get costlier by at least Rs 10 lakh, they said.

High-end diesel and petrol cars registered under an individual's name, with prices around Rs 1.33 crore and Rs 1.54 crore, respectively, will now attract over Rs 20 lakh in one-time tax, RTO officials said.

In Maharashtra, the one-time tax for petrol cars registered under an individual's name is 11 per cent for those priced below Rs 10 lakh, 12 per cent for those priced between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, and 13 per cent for those priced above Rs 20 lakh, they added.

For diesel cars, the one-time tax is 13 per cent for those priced below Rs 10 lakh, 14 per cent for those priced between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh, and 15 per cent for those priced above Rs 20 lakh.

If a vehicle is imported or registered under a company name, both petrol and diesel vehicles attract a flat one-time tax of 20 percent, regardless of their price, the officials pointed out.

According to RTO officials, cars running on compressed natural gas (CNG) or liquefied natural gas (LNG) will also become slightly more expensive, with a 1 per cent hike in one-time tax across all three price brackets.

Goods carriers such as pickup trucks, tempos with a gross vehicle weight of up to 7,500 kilograms, and construction vehicles like cranes, compressors, and projectors will now be taxed at 7 per cent of their price.

A senior RTO official explained that these vehicles will now be taxed based on their price rather than on their gross vehicle weight, which was the earlier basis.

For example, earlier a pickup vehicle costing around Rs 10 lakh would attract a tax of about Rs 20,000 based on weight, which under the revised structure will be around Rs 70,000, he said.

According to the transport department's website, the earlier one-time tax ranged from Rs 8,400 to Rs 37,800 for goods vehicles with gross weights between 750 kg and 7,500 kg.

"Electric vehicles (EVs) will continue to enjoy tax exemptions. Although the state government had earlier proposed a 6 per cent tax on EVs priced above Rs 30 lakh, the proposal was later withdrawn," the official said.