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Have You Heard About Green Tax On Vehicles?

Team AckoJan 17, 2024

By the time you finish reading this article, millions of cars would have increased our planet’s pollution level. Several trees will be felled, factories will increase the environment’s toxicity, plastic will be dumped in the ocean, so on and so forth. Our environment is deteriorating, climate change is real, and Earth as we know it will not be the same in the near future. The concept of Green Tax is one of the measures taken to be environment conscious and move towards a sustainable future.

Contents

What is Green Tax?
Green Tax on Vehicles
Reasons For Green Tax On Vehicles
PUC Certification
Vehicle Scrapping
Protecting The Environment

What is Green Tax?

Green Tax is also known as Pollution/Environment Tax. It is a charge for polluting the environment and directed towards making behavioral changes in people. It can also be viewed as a penalty for polluting the planet.

Green Tax on Vehicles

Green Tax is levied on older vehicles as an old engine is detrimental to the environment. Thus, the owner of the old vehicle has to pay Green Tax for polluting the environment. Such a tax is levied on both private and commercial vehicles. This varies from state to state. For example, In Maharashtra, private vehicles aged more than fifteen years and commercial vehicles aged more than eight years have to pay the Green Tax.

Green tax applied on vehicles varies as per their categorization. Commercial vehicles such as busses and trucks cause a lot of pollution. Heavy vehicles that are used as good carriers travel across states and are known to emit a lot of smoke in the environment. With cities falling prey to the increasing smoke levels, it has become crucial to reduce pollution levels in areas with high population density. For example, smog levels in Delhi were alarming in 2017. Going ahead, cities might limit the entry of commercial vehicles within their limits and face Regional Transport Office (RTO) fines for not following rules.

Reasons For Green Tax On Vehicles

The underlying thought behind levying a Green Tax on old vehicles is that automobile technology changes in the course of ten to fifteen years. Engines that are ten to fifteen years old pollute the environment a lot more compared to newer engines with latest technology. The tax is in a way levied to discourage people from using old vehicles as they are not as per upgraded pollution standards.

Green Tax might lead people to discard their old vehicles instead of shelling out money for the vehicle’s longevity. This way the number of old vehicles plying on city’s roads might also reduce. The collected tax will be a part of the state’s fund. It will be used for developing infrastructure.

PUC Certification

A valid Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUC) is a must for every vehicle owner in India. It must be renewed from time to time and displayed as and when requested by a police official. This document certifies that your vehicle meets the pollution norms set by the authorities. An invalid PUC certificate can result in RTO fines.

Vehicle Scrapping

There are certain rules and regulations you need to follow if you decide to scrap your old vehicle instead of spending on its maintenance and paying Green Tax. You need permission from your local RTO in order to scrap your vehicle after cancelling your vehicle’s registration. More information and contact details can be fetched from your state’s RTO’s online portal. You have to fill an RTO application form and an inspector will be assigned to check the vehicle. The RTO application form must be accompanied by relevant documents.

Protecting The Environment

Everyone must make a conscious effort to reduce pollution. Servicing your vehicle on a regular basis, carpooling, using public transport, etc. can help towards reducing the impact of your vehicle on the environment.

Also, read: Is car insurance tax deductible?