[aargee]

Kindly merge if such a thread exists before.

MUMBAI - India's planned US$70 billion road infrastructure investment over the next three years, and the country's growing heavyweight global status, are being undermined from within - by highway check-point policemen looting bribes from truckers worth a remarkable US$4.5 billion annually.

None of the world's other trillion-dollar economies (the United States, Britain, China, Japan, Germany, Russia, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain and Canada) faces this magnitude of police corruption.

Read more: http://nchro.org/index.php?option=co...tion&Itemid=12

[sa_kiran]

Octroi and tolls are other forms of robbery. Municipalities, including Mumbai, are opposing including octroi tax in invoices, because it takes away their chance of taking their cut under the table. Also, these octroi booths are not computerized! I had heard that there are some moves to do away with octroi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octroi#Current), but not sure of the status.

Queues of vehicles at toll booths cause more loss than the revenue collected. The amount of fuel wasted, time wasted and lost productivity far outweigh the toll collection. As always, there are VIPs and thugs who get away without paying toll. Once, I was returning from Kolhapur to Pune. At one of the toll booths, there was a brand new Scorpio ahead of me. It approached the toll booth ahead of me and passed without paying the toll. The Scorpio had NCP district head, Kolhapur sticker and NO REGISTRATION NUMBER, either at front or back!

[Arch-Angel]

I just wish this atleast reduces to a big extent as i find it extremely sad to see the country i love, in shambles where corruption is present to such an extent that it happens in broad daylight!

P.S: The title made me lol.

[Nitrous Power]

May be OT here but, Why can't the state governments computerize the Octroi Offices and the State Check posts. Gujarat government computerized all state Check posts few years ago and the gain in road tax is huge compared to previous years. And AFAIK, Gujarat government has done away the Octroi as well. (At least for municipalities, not sure about municipal corporations)

[SmartCat]

Technically, the truckers are at fault too, most of the time. The cops take bribes because the trucks are overloaded or because they have improper papers. If the truckers are clean, on what basis are bribes taken?

It's profit sharing of ill gotten money.

If the authorities want to reduce police corruption, increasing the cops' salaries is a good start. How can anybody manage family expenses on a salary of Rs. 4,000 - 8,000 per month in these times?

Anyway, a thief (Police) stealing from another thief (Trucker) is not such a bad thing - money changes hands and and it keeps the economy rolling.

[phamilyman]

One thief looting another. Even BHPians here who are in the transportation business (CVs) talk about choosing one brand over the other so that it can be overloaded more.

What happens is that the developer builds an inferior road to save pennies, trucks are overloaded (and policemen bribed) to save more pennies and then the roads crumble - that is our pound foolish economy :(

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by sa_kiran

Octroi and tolls are other forms of robbery. Municipalities, including Mumbai, are opposing including octroi tax in invoices, because it takes away their chance of taking their cut under the table. Also, these octroi booths are not computerized! I had heard that there are some moves to do away with octroi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octroi#Current), but not sure of the status.

Queues of vehicles at toll booths cause more loss than the revenue collected. The amount of fuel wasted, time wasted and lost productivity far outweigh the toll collection. As always, there are VIPs and thugs who get away without paying toll. Once, I was returning from Kolhapur to Pune. At one of the toll booths, there was a brand new Scorpio ahead of me. It approached the toll booth ahead of me and passed without paying the toll. The Scorpio had NCP district head, Kolhapur sticker and NO REGISTRATION NUMBER, either at front or back!

SA Kiran
Hi.
Other than Ethopia, Maharashtra is the only state which levies this ancient tax.Around 84/85 the then chief minister,mr Sharad Pawar had promised that this obnoxious tax would be done away.The octroi staff fought for the continuation fearing job losses.The government promised that they would get jobs in different departments.It was calculated that the official collection was 400 crores and a somewhat similar amount is exchanged under the table.We are still waiting for its removal.

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

May be OT here but, Why can't the state governments computerize the Octroi Offices and the State Check posts. Gujarat government computerized all state Check posts few years ago and the gain in road tax is huge compared to previous years. And AFAIK, Gujarat government has done away the Octroi as well. (At least for municipalities, not sure about municipal corporations)

Nitrous Power
Hi
Around 1990 Gujarat scrapped the octroi.It was calculated that the fuel cost,not to mention that the truck gets tied down for a longer time,more than offsets the collection.So they took decision which has worked wonders.
Regards

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by faustus77

SA Kiran
Hi.
Other than Ethopia, Maharashtra is the only state which levies this ancient tax.Around 84/85 the then chief minister,mr Sharad Pawar had promised that this obnoxious tax would be done away.The octroi staff fought for the continuation fearing job losses.The government promised that they would get jobs in different departments.It was calculated that the official collection was 400 crores and a somewhat similar amount is exchanged under the table.We are still waiting for its removal.

Another disgusting aspect of Octroi is that it is levied on used goods as well! Have you ever heard of this? I move my goods across cities in Maharashtra (or even between Mumbai and Thane) and I end up paying Octroi! I've paid twice, when I moved from Mumbai to Pune and then when I moved from Pune to Thane.

Just because the corrupt babus don't want to tax the their favoured ones, they do this kind of daylight robbery to fill the state's coffers, as well as theirs. It is same as high income tax rates for a very small group of salaried people.

[amtak]

It is weird but true. I stay close to a check naka and see this happening every day. Once my car had broken down (I am technically in Thane district) and my service centre is in Borivali (about 4 kms away); I couldnt take my car there despite having a tow truck as I was advised that I would have to pay an octroi for transporting my car in Mumbai (by then official). The duty would be some 4.5% of the original cost of the car. I then took my car to a new service station that I had opened in my area and I was pretty happy with it.

Thanks!

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by amtak

It is weird but true. I stay close to a check naka and see this happening every day. Once my car had broken down (I am technically in Thane district) and my service centre is in Borivali (about 4 kms away); I couldnt take my car there despite having a tow truck as I was advised that I would have to pay an octroi for transporting my car in Mumbai (by then official). The duty would be some 4.5% of the original cost of the car. I then took my car to a new service station that I had opened in my area and I was pretty happy with it.
Thanks!

There is a refund rule about movement of goods across municipal borders.http://octroirefund.com/refund_of_octroi.htmIf you take your goods for temporary use across the border you pay the octori and keep the slip when you bring it back after the said time interval the goods are checked and the octroi refunded.

I have done this in my earlier job where we used to take filming equipment to various locations and then claim refund. Of course Octroi agents helped but these can be done by individuals too (need to have time on your hands).

even carrying your laptop across borders can attract Octroi.

The biggest collectors of bribes are normally at these Naka’s as both the octroi staff and police net bribes from these locations. Station yourself at any of these nakas in the evenings or early mornings and see how the police officers are tipped for letting the trucks off.

[amtak]

Originally Posted by rulerofsun

There is a refund rule about movement of goods across municipal borders.http://octroirefund.com/refund_of_octroi.htmIf you take your goods for temporary use across the border you pay the octori and keep the slip when you bring it back after the said time interval the goods are checked and the octroi refunded.

The biggest collectors of bribes are normally at these Naka’s as both the octroi staff and police net bribes from these locations. Station yourself at any of these nakas in the evenings or early mornings and see how the police officers are tipped for letting the trucks off.

I know, but when your car breaks down out of nowhere, the last thing on your mind is to deal with govt. bodies/agents. Why pay un-necessary for something when there are options around.

[rulerofsun]

Originally Posted by amtak

I know, but when your car breaks down out of nowhere, the last thing on your mind is to deal with govt. bodies/agents. Why pay un-necessary for something when there are options around.

Very ture. I completely agree with your opinion here.

Unlike you and me many of us do not know our rights and rules and end up paying for something we should not.

I was asked to take off a clear flim (3m CR70) from the windows of my car cause no flim is allowed.
The cop came to know of the flim when a a stone hit and craked a window which did not disintegrate. The Cop wanted to take a bribe and let the flim stay which i avoided and took a slip.

Have to collect my licence now from the RTO.

[sa_kiran]

Originally Posted by rulerofsun

even carrying your laptop across borders can attract Octroi.

This laptop rule created havoc in one of my earlier organizations in Pune. People used to travel regularly from H'bad and they were instructed not to carry laptops! Madness of Maharashtra babus/netas knows no bounds!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Technically, the truckers are at fault too, most of the time. The cops take bribes because the trucks are overloaded or because they have improper papers. If the truckers are clean, on what basis are bribes taken?

That is the basis of all corruption ( or atleast most of it). No body on the right side of law would give bribes. We all give bribes because we have broken one or the other law. And this would continue unless we change ourselves. Can't just blame the system for it.

Anyway, a thief (Police) stealing from another thief (Trucker) is not such a bad thing - money changes hands and and it keeps the economy rolling.

[scooby05]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

That is the basis of all corruption ( or atleast most of it). No body on the right side of law would give bribes. We all give bribes because we have broken one or the other law. And this would continue unless we change ourselves. Can't just blame the system for it.

In most of cases what you say maybe true. But, we have our trucks transporting our material all over India, and, We do not overload, all our papers and permits are complete and upto date, and still the cops/rto's have to be paid at EVERY state Border. A believe it or not, a trip from Nagpur to a plant in Himachal entails 5 state borders and nearly Rs.3000 is the speed money paid, otherwise our truck would take 2+ days more to reach destination waiting in queues to get the papers scan done at each border!!! And its simple, if you do not give they ask you to wait and your turn just doesnt come. This is how they extract, and the share goes right to the top, its a price for each posting.