[Rtech]

Today's TOI had a front page feature on this. The FM finally seems to have woken up to the realities of the Indian Auto industry, and has promised changes in the tax structure.

The proposals ( if I remember correctly, anyone have a link??)
- Reduce taxes on small cars
- Consider tax structure on size of car; either length or engine size
- Set a maximum life for vehicles, after which heavy taxes will be imposed making it unvialble for people to continue using their old cars/trucks.
- Scrap old, badly maintained cars.
- Make India a global manufacturing hub for small cars

This is very encouaging news and is great for all of us as well as the economy on the whole. Now I just hope it is put into practice sensibly.

[v12]

- Reduce taxes on small cars
- Make India a global manufacturing hub for small cars

That'll cause a huge increase in the car population. Do we have the roads to support so many cars.

- Set a maximum life for vehicles, after which heavy taxes will be imposed making it unvialble for people to continue using their old cars/trucks.
- Scrap old, badly maintained cars.

Scrapping ONLY old and badly maintained cars is a good idea. I guess they have already started implementing this in Delhi. Vehicles above 15 years are not alllowed to ply.

Vehicles that have crossed the "maximum life" and which are kept well-maintained and do not pollute should be exempt from being scrapped.

[drifter]

Yeah i read about it in the times. Its a good move. Waiting for the government to act on its promises.

Drifter

[Boom Shiva]

Good plan. But I'd keep my fingers crossed, cause we know that if anyone can screw up a good plan, it's our government!

[sandeepmdas]

Here's more:

http://in.rediff.com/money/2005/sep/02car.htm

[sridhar24]

Thats a good proposal. But as V12 said hey have to look at the condition of the roads too as the car population will increase with the reduced tax on small cars.

[Gordon]

- Reduce taxes on small cars
- Make India a global manufacturing hub for small cars

Agree with V12, but before that

• Stop Rickshaw production!!! Enough of that crap.
• Make all roads wider!!!
• Remove hawkers and small vendors from the streets!!!
• Make proper sidewalks all over Mumbai!!!
• Road Lines must be drawn properly to indicate stop line, turns, BEST stops, etc!!!
• On major roads that link two areas and have heavy traffic, ban parking and provide proper parking zones!!!

[Rtech]

We are talking about taxation in the Indian auto sector and you are talking about Mumbai's roads!

Anyway, the problem isn't the roads per se, but the logic of our cabbies/rick drivers in making a mess of what we have. But now that's another topic.

[Gordon]

Ya I know what I'm talking about. Before taking those tax steps mentioned, they should first try to clean the current scenario.

Imagine what would happen, if there are soo many small cars dumped here in the current situation. The future wouldn't be bright.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Gordon

[*]Make proper sidewalks all over mumbai

I dont think this is quite the solution....people need to be FORCED physically to walk on the footpaths. Have you seen the crowd walking to siddhivinayak every monday night? Its insane... there is not one person on the sidewalk, they occupy more than half the road, at some point the entire road. Building infrastructure is not enough, we need to make laws for people to use them for their best benifit.

[Gordon]

Reducing the taxes is good no doubt. But is that all what we really really need?!

Originally Posted by Sahil

I dont think this is quite the solution....people need to be FORCED physically to walk on the footpaths. Have you seen the crowd walking to siddhivinayak every monday night? Its insane... there is not one person on the sidewalk, they occupy more than half the road, at some point the entire road. Building infrastructure is not enough, we need to make laws for people to use them for their best benifit.

If you notice most sidewalks have been captured by shops, restaurants, TREES(!!), hawkers and vendors. People should use the sidewalks!! Most people instead use the asphalt (thats what you call dambar I guess) section of the road.

[vivekiny2k]

Sorry for bringing this old thread alive, but loking at the price war around, indica slashing 40K, santro cutting prices/giving freebies, is it because all these ppl want to clear their stovks before the actual price war starts?

and does it mean we are going to get real good prices in small car segment? looks like something is cooking up.

my doubts are:
1. how much of this benefit will be passed to us the consumers. will they be comparable to their prices abroad?
2. are bigger cars going to carry the burden of the subsidy....just like diesel subsidy is carried by burden on petrol.

what do you people think?

[X-Machine]

Originally Posted by Rtech

- Set a maximum life for vehicles, after which heavy taxes will be imposed making it unvialble for people to continue using their old cars/trucks.
- Scrap old, badly maintained cars.
economy on the whole. Now I just hope it is put into practice sensibly.

This will be a great step by the Government.Singapore practices this law and its a success outhere.One can see many new cars plying on the roads leaving aside those age old vehicles.Its a welcome change.
But this law has a drawback too : The used car prices might go down by 20%-25%.

Its a nice move,but it all comes down to how its implemented.Our Government is just too lazy.

X

[lamborghini]

Sounds like a good idea but they should get the roads in proper shape first.
Also, cabbies should not be alowed to drive unless their car is in perfect working condition like the abs in London.

[manaa45]

i read the follwoing article in a car magazine about Japan offering sops for those purchasing small cars. was wondering would something like this work in India. here is the excerpt from the article

" the Japanese government has been promoting small cars through a system of monetary incentives prevalent since the end of world war II. these cars are called Kei cars have been receiving tax and insurance relaxations and the owners of these cars do have certain benefits even while opting for a parking lot in front of their homes.
registering a Kei car for parking requires only proof of purchase, the car's registration document and a copy of one's own document. the entire registration process takes little time.
kei cars are categorised as mini cars in Japan and acre very popular. In India, the small car definition generally follows a pricing pattern with the result that the Indica which has a bigger engine then Exteem is still a small car. "

when i read this article what i felt immediately is that if this kind of process is introduced in India wherein the taxes, registration amounts and other taxes can be reduced, then it would be within one's reach to buy small cars at a more affordable price like in case of hyundai getz, it is a small car but still very highly priced. may be the manufacturer's cost might not be much but the taxes levied upon it might be taking the car's price to that level.

guys ur suggestiosn here please.

shubbhi

Article sourced from Autocar Proffesional - September 15th 2005 issue.

mods shift it to whichever place it needs to be. thks