K'taka transport department proposes slashing revenue target

Bengaluru, Aug 7 (IANS) The Karnataka transport department has submitted a proposal to the state government revising its revenue target downwards from Rs 6,617 crore to Rs 4,900 crore, said an official on Friday."Right now the proposal is before the state government and Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has to take a call on this for approval," said the official.One of the major reasons for the department to revise the target was because it exempted tax amounting to Rs 350 crore for two months during the lockdown in April and May."For two months during the lockdown we exempted tax amounting to Rs 350 crore and vehicle registrations have also come down," he said.Many travel agencies made a representation to the government that their buses were not carrying passengers during the lockdown and asked for an exemption."In those two months we have not collected any taxes," he said.Similarly, purchase of new vehicles has also reduced, depriving the department of registration revenue.Lifetime tax on new vehicle registration, permit free, road tax, penalties and others are the revenue earners for the department.
--IANS sth/sdr/