[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by black_panther

I understand that the lifetime tax after 5 years (valid for the next 10 years) would be 67% of that of a new vehicle as the vehicle is now more than 5 years old.

5 year tax for a 5 year old vehicle would be same as that of new vehicle.

Not sure about the logic as to why a 5 year old car should be taxed at the same rate as a new vehicle. It should follow the same logic as applied for the lifetime tax which is 67% of the 5 year tax imposed on a new vehicle. You can either go directly to the RTO or through an agent to get this done. I incidentally just paid lifetime tax for my 11 year old Zen which came to 36% of the tax on a new vehicle. My agent advised me that it is better that I pay the lifetime tax instead of the 5 year slab version as it seems the rules are not explicitly spelled out for the 5 year slab version.

[black_panther]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Not sure about the logic as to why a 5 year old car should be taxed at the same rate as a new vehicle. It should follow the same logic as applied for the lifetime tax which is 67% of the 5 year tax imposed on a new vehicle. You can either go directly to the RTO or through an agent to get this done. I incidentally just paid lifetime tax for my 11 year old Zen which came to 36% of the tax on a new vehicle. My agent advised me that it is better that I pay the lifetime tax instead of the 5 year slab version as it seems the rules are not explicitly spelled out for the 5 year slab version.

A 5 year old vehicle would still occupy the same road space and probably would be more polluting.

Lifetime tax gets reduced by one-third as we have already paid for the first 5 years. This makes sense to me.

I received a call from the dealer yesterday, saying that my tax would be due soon and they are ready to collect the same from me. I'm not sure whether to go with them or visit the local agent.

Also, the online payment facility is withdrawn, not sure why.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by black_panther

A 5 year old vehicle would still occupy the same road space and probably would be more polluting.

I didn't get the road space logic, so would a 10 year old vehicle.

Originally Posted by black_panther

Lifetime tax gets reduced by one-third as we have already paid for the first 5 years. This makes sense to me.

I would suggest opt to pay the lifetime tax since it is already 5 years and that way by paying a wee bit more at 67% of the lifetime tax paid for a new car, you buy permanent peace of mind and insurance against the crazies in the government.

Originally Posted by black_panther

I received a call from the dealer yesterday, saying that my tax would be due soon and they are ready to collect the same from me. I'm not sure whether to go with them or visit the local agent.

Try yourself first and then a local agent. In case you need help let me know.

Originally Posted by black_panther

Also, the online payment facility is withdrawn, not sure why.

Simple. To enable corruption.

[black_panther]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I didn't get the road space logic, so would a 10 year old vehicle.

Equal tax is being charged irrespective of the age of vehicle, either for a period of 5 year or lifetime.

67% is not because of the depreciation of the vehicle, but because you have already paid tax for first 5 years out of the 15 year lifetime.

Similarly, for a 10 year old vehicle , you are paying one-third of the lifetime tax, as you only get the benefit for 5 years. For vehicles older than 10 years, I don't think that the 5.5% rule is available as you are already paying less.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I would suggest opt to pay the lifetime tax since it is already 5 years and that way by paying a wee bit more at 67% of the lifetime tax paid for a new car, you buy permanent peace of mind and insurance against the crazies in the government.

Yes. Paying 6.7% of the ex-showroom price for 10 years instead of 5.5% of the same for 5 years makes sense.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Try yourself first and then a local agent. In case you need help let me know.

Thanks. I'll give it a shot.

[black_panther]

I paid the lifetime tax on my 5 year old vehicle through a "dalal" more than a month ago and received the money receipt on the following day.

The "dalal" told me that the token gets generated in a month at kolkata dmv and he collected and sent it to my address through a courier service about 10 days ago. I did not receive the same and the fellow is unable to provide the tracking details.

He told me that it is possible to get a duplicate token but the fellow is unable to collect the same due to some personal problems.

I am unable to trust this fellow anymore.

Is there a way I can collect it myself? What all documents would they ask for? What are the charges for a duplicate token?

Is it advisable to go there myself or get it through another agency (this one I know for years, I should have paid the tax through them).

[meerkat]

The wb govt didn't take long to realize that some people could save some money by opting for LTT instead of the 5-yr tax! So they've issued a directive to the RTOs to not offer the LTT option to existing owners having less-than-10 yr-old cars! So now LTT is only for new buyers, or owners having > 10 yr old cars! That's what I was told today at the RTO. So I'm ending up paying > 73 k in just two 5-yr instalments for my Baleno (transferred from KA) ! For people grumbling about the high KA road tax, the LTT for the same car in BLR was just 64k (for 15 yrs) !

[56landmaster]

So I was reading up on road tax on cars in west Bengal and I have yet to see a clear statement on that tax as it applies to old (20+ years) cars and their basement of road tax.

I only ask since I'm Trying to get a friends morris minor on the road and it's been a pain and half

So if a passenger vehicle from say the 50s is

A) registered in Assam
B) current owner lives in West Bengal but spends a good chunk in GAU

The process without reregistration (the rc book is current all due in Assam are paid)

The only thing is to pay road tax in WB where the car will spend more time:

By current laws they're quoting him:
A) 30k for lifetime tax?

Is this right?

At that point it's easier to just get a newer car with modern features and leave the minor as a showpiece in his garage

[Blacktop]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Try yourself first and then a local agent. In case you need help let me know.
Simple. To enable corruption.

Visited RTO Barasat today. Had a nightmare of a time. To pay road tax, it appears I need to get a clearance from Lalbazar police station, anti-theft squad since mine is an out of state vehicle driven into Kolkata. Then, I must also get some clearance from a 1st class magistrate The RTO officer also said that there is no option to pay 5 year tax. I must pay Life Time tax! No agent seemed sure of when/how long it would take to get the tax payment done or how much is the tax!! Came back disappointed :-(

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by Blacktop

Visited RTO Barasat today. Had a nightmare of a time. To pay road tax, it appears I need to get a clearance from Lalbazar police station, anti-theft squad since mine is an out of state vehicle driven into Kolkata. Then, I must also get some clearance from a 1st class magistrate The RTO officer also said that there is no option to pay 5 year tax. I must pay Life Time tax! No agent seemed sure of when/how long it would take to get the tax payment done or how much is the tax!! Came back disappointed :-(

Horrendous. As far as I know it is simpler in the RTOs at Beltala and Alipore. However it might have gotten worse even there too. Didi's Bengal has declined abysmally specially in the transport governance sector. Why don't you take a printout of the newspaper extracts uploaded here as images and show it to the RTO folks?

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by 56landmaster

So I was reading up on road tax on cars in west Bengal and I have yet to see a clear statement on that tax as it applies to old (20+ years) cars and their basement of road tax.
So if a passenger vehicle from say the 50s is

A) registered in Assam
B) current owner lives in West Bengal but spends a good chunk in GAU

The process without reregistration (the rc book is current all due in Assam are paid)

By current laws they're quoting him:
A) 30k for lifetime tax?

Is this right?

This is incorrect. I was checking up the LTT paid by my dad on our 28 year old M800. The car was registered earlier in KA, and in WB since 1997.

In 2013 Rs 10,840 LTT was paid in relation to our M800. After reading the receipt and checking the calculation formulae this is how I reconstructed the basis of tax:

Facts : Car is 10+ yrs old (oldest tax bracket), is <800 cc and non-AC

Hence the LTT is 36% of the LTT of a new M800.
Now LTT for a new M800 is Rs 40,000 or 10% of the cost whichever is higher -- hence Rs 40,000. Non-AC cars get a "rebate" of Rs 10,000 so the effective base LTT for a new non-AC M800 is Rs 30,000.

For a 10+ yr old vehicle the LTT is 36% of the base = 36% of Rs 30,000 = Rs 10,800. Add Rs 40 as processing charges so total is Rs 10,840.

Going by this calculation, the LTT on a 50 yr old 1000 cc Morris Minor is likely to be 36% of Rs 55,000 = Rs 19,800. [There is no "non-AC" rebate for vehicles above 800 cc]

[mayukh]

My Ford Fiesta will be completing 5 years this 18th January. Hence, I have to pay the road tax again. My vehicle got originally registered at Beltala.

While I am not expecting that this will be a hassle free affair, please someone enlighten me if I will be able to pay the road tax of my own. What are the other formalities that needs to be done as part of the same?

Thanks in advance.

[mayukh]

Had a nice experience while paying the road tax for my FORD Fiesta. The sequence of incidents goes like this:

1. Wary of my experience while getting my driving license from PVD Beltala (that too via broker), I was never think of paying the road tax myself. Hence, contacted the local FORD dealer to help. They quoted a charge of 1700-2000 INR for paying the same. 1 other broker quoted similar figure.

2. Almost decided to go to PVD Kasba, I accidentally managed to talk with a trainer of a driving school. The honest man (rare these days) suggested to personally visit the PVD with all documents.

3. For those who do not know, PVD Kasba is inside the state bus depot beside Ruby Hospital crossing. Armed with originals and photocopies of all my documents, reached PVD Kasba at 11 AM.

4. Was pleasantly surprised to see the entire PVD Kasba office area free of touts. Business was going as usual and there were no unwanted people loitering around - only owners and some sales persons from dealers.

5. Road tax counter can be seen immediately after entering the area. Inquired about the documents required, I was asked to take 1 form from an outside shop - Annex 1, fill it up and attach original road tax token, photocopies of PUC, Insurance and Smart card.

6. Bought the form from the outside shop paying 5 Rs, filled it up (very simple), and attached the supporting documents.

7. The same person at the tax counter asked me to then go the tax assessment officer in the same office premise.

8. The officer was a very polite person and asked me to sit down. While his assistant checked the papers, he calculated the tax applicable for my car. He asked for my car sale invoice to confirm the original sale price.

9. Within minutes, he told me the tax amount - 35184 INR for 5 yrs and some around 54K for lifetime (10 years). He asked me to decide which to prefer.

10. I decided for 5 years tax and the office made the entry in their portal. Returned my documents after signing/stamping it.

11. Since not carrying enough cash, went to an ATM and returned with the required amount.

12. The road tax can either be paid in cash or in DD.

13. Made the payment in the tax counter and got my new tax receipt, all in all with 30 minutes.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with the entire process. I even congratulated the assessment officer to make processes simpler and PVD Kasba area tout free.

Hope this information is helpful to all others, who plans to visit PVD Kasba.

[scuderiamania]

@Mayukh- I am pleasantly surprised by reading your post. I recently paid road tax for 5 years through a 'dalal' who charged by Rs. 2000/-! Wish I had gone to pay the taxes myself.

Btw, the registration number for our cars start with WB-02AB and WB-06. So I guess the applicable PVD is Beltala. Does anyone have an idea of how things are Beltala? Is the process as stress free as stated by Mayukh in Kasba PVD? Also, can I get my registration shifted to Salt Lake PVD?

[mayukh]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

@Mayukh- I am pleasantly surprised by reading your post. I recently paid road tax for 5 years through a 'dalal' who charged by Rs. 2000/-! Wish I had gone to pay the taxes myself.

Btw, the registration number for our cars start with WB-02AB and WB-06. So I guess the applicable PVD is Beltala. Does anyone have an idea of how things are Beltala? Is the process as stress free as stated by Mayukh in Kasba PVD? Also, can I get my registration shifted to Salt Lake PVD?

@scuderiamania, even I was pleasantly surprised about the entire hassle free process.

My car is WB-06 registered and was originally registered/road tax paid at Beltala. What I know is that some load at Beltala was divided between PVD Kasba (catering to south & east Kolkata) and PVD Saltlake (catering to North Kolkata). Rest remains with Beltala.

I got the above info from link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/113090...p#.VMClKEeUeO0

Hence, check your new road tax papers. It may have been paid either in Saltlake or Kasba.

I only assume that things should have bettered in Saltlake and Beltala too.

[rajatmakar]

I have a query on road tax at West Bengal.

In April 2015, I shifted my Swift from Bangalore to Bardhaman. The car was purchased in June 2006.

I want to pay road tax for 5 years. Also, how is road tax calculated for used cars?

Thanks in advance,
Rajat