Prayagraj, 15 November (HS). Allahabad High Court has rejected the petition filed demanding exemption in road tax on purchasing electric vehicles from Jammu and driving them in Uttar Pradesh.
The petitioner said that the government has given tax exemption on purchasing electric vehicles in the state, whereas not giving exemption on purchasing in other states is discriminatory. The court said that the state gets revenue by purchasing vehicles within the state. Purchasing a vehicle from another state results in loss of revenue. It is within the power of the state to impose conditions for exemption from road tax on purchasing a vehicle in the state. This cannot be called unfair.
The division bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Vikas Wednesday gave this order on the petition of M/s Batra Henley Cables. The petitioner has purchased an electric vehicle from Jammu and registered it in Uttar Pradesh. He had to pay Rs 1 lakh 91 thousand 9 hundred as road tax. Whereas under the notification of Uttar Pradesh, those who have purchased electric vehicles in the state are being given exemption from road tax. The petitioner refused to pay the road tax. Said he should also be given exemption. The condition of the Act was said to be arbitrarily discriminatory, under which there is a provision of giving tax exemption on purchasing vehicles in the state of Uttar Pradesh only.
Additional Chief Standing Advocate of the state government argued that the petitioner has no right to ask for exemption. The conditions for granting exemption have been included in the Act by the State. The state gets its share of GST on purchasing a vehicle in the state. Whereas the state does not get any benefit on purchasing a vehicle from outside the state. Therefore the condition imposed cannot be called illegal.
