Chandigarh RLA asked to refund wrongly collected road tax

In a complaint filed before the commission, PS Bhinder, a resident of Chandigarh, said that he booked a hybrid car on December 5, 2023 from M/s Lally Automobiles (India) Private Limited, Chandigarh, for $20.6 lakhs.

Bhinder said the dealer told him there was no road tax for hybrid vehicles and for that reason he opted for a higher model, taking into account the tax rebate. When he visited the RLA office to register the vehicle, he was informed that he had to pay road tax for the car even if it was a hybrid. RLA officials added that a 50% road tax was applied to hybrid cars that cost up to $20 lakh and full road tax for top hybrid cars $20 lakh in terms of a fresh notification dated December 8, 2023.

The trader had claimed that he had not received any order from the concerned authorities regarding the new rule. Bhinder obtained the copy of the said notification, which was digitally signed at 3.07 pm on December 8, 2023, and only thereafter the said notification would come into force. He argued that he had purchased the vehicle much before the notice was issued.

On the other hand, the trader said he had no role in the matter. In the response, the RLA denied the charges and said that the complainant had purchased the vehicle on December 8, 2023.

After hearing the arguments, the state commission headed by Justice Raj Shekhar Attri said, “In this case, the complainant purchased the vehicle at 1.07 pm, much before the notification was issued. Therefore, the plaintiff is not required to pay any road tax on his hybrid car.

“It has been established that the notification in question was published in the Official Gazette on December 8, 2023 at 3:07:21 p.m., that is, after the date and time of purchase of the aforementioned vehicle on the day at 1 p.m. :02:41 and also the issuance of your temporary registration certification was at 13:07:20, so said notification will be prospective and not retroactive. “Therefore, the RLA’s appeal is dismissed,” the state commission stated.

The commission ordered the RLA to refund the road tax, which amounted to $ 1,42,588, to the plaintiff along with 9% interest and also pay $25,000 as compensation for causing mental agony.