Incoming cess for vehicles entering Goa from Nov 1,2009

From November 1 the vehicles entering into Goa will have to shell out a charge towards using infrastructure in the state. Incoming motorists from sedan to trucks to containers and trailers will soon have to pay an incoming cess on Goa borders.

Vehicles registered in Goa and moving to other states too will, on their return journey to state, have to pay the cess towards use of infrastructure and will be charged from Rs 100 to Rs 500 depending on the type of vehicle.

Speaking to 'The Navhind Times' the transport secretary, Mr Narendra Kumar informed that the cess on usage of infrastructure was announced by the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat in July during the budget and said that the cess will be collected at the check posts along the Goa borders.

He said that cess while entering the state will be charged towards the use of infrastructure during the stay in the state and has nothing to do towards taxes paid under the Motor Vehicle Act which is mandatory all over the country. However, he said that two wheelers and three wheelers would be exempted from the cess.

Further, Mr Kumar informed that the government is also trying to devise a special scheme for buses and taxies registered in Goa and which travel to other states and return to state frequently, in order to provide them some relief. He said that the scheme would also be finalised by the end of next month, prior to its implementation.

When asked how much revenue is expected to be collected from the cess, Mr Kumar said that there is no statistical analysis on the number of vehicles entering the state; also there is no record on the type of vehicles entering the state.

Further, the transport secretary informed that the file has received approval from the finance department to meet the initial costs of setting up cubicals, computerisation, staff salaries etc and added that 50 per cent of the staff to be employed at the posts will be from the pre-employment training (PET) while another 50 per cent staff will be taken on contract basis.

When asked if vehicles entering the state with essential commodities will be exempted from the cess as this would lead to further increase in the costs, he said that all the vehicles entering Goa will have to pay, however, vehicles entering Goa with essential commodities was not taken into consideration. Mr Kumar quickly added that now the government will also take this into consideration and may try to include them under the special scheme.

According to sources in the Directorate of Transport the cess could be called an infrastructure and pollution tax. The cess could raise money to revamp Goa's poor infrastructure of roads and bridges. The present traffic arteries built by the Portuguese have only been modified to some extent. Freight traffic is increasing rapidly with the development of industries in industrial estates giving rise to freight traffic of containers, trailers and trucks moving with passenger traffic. The lack of bypasses and diversions is creating chaos at rush hours on highway roads.
Every half-an-hour container trailers and lorries are seen on the highway at Verna. It is difficult to fix a time for them, the source said. Industry sources said that about 35 to 40 per cent of the freight traffic converges with passenger traffic in Goa and creates a traffic milieu during rush hours.