Owners of luxury cars priced between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore are refusing to pay road tax, creating a challenge for the cash-strapped West Bengal government.
Transport department records show that road tax dues for 1,931 high-end vehicles have reached Rs 70 crore, with owners showing little interest in following the rules despite repeated reminders. The defaulters include actors, well-known doctors, entrepreneurs, and lawyers, owning brands like Land Rover, Range Rover, BMW, Audi, Porsche, and Jaguar.
Sources within the transport department revealed that the state secretariat, Nabanna, recently requested a list of luxury car owners who have not paid their road taxes for the past five to ten years. According to a transport department official, "Owners of regular vehicles are more law-abiding than the wealthy, but we are now planning a special drive to recover these large tax dues."
One example involves a well-known actress from the Bengali film industry. Her vehicle, with Rs 12 lakh in unpaid road tax, was seized at the Ruby crossing on EM Bypass a month ago. Despite several reminders, she hasn’t paid her dues and has other cars to use. Her seized vehicle remains at the transport department's Kasba office.
According to an inspector from the motor vehicles department, traffic police and transport officers often hesitate to stop luxury cars. "But we will no longer allow defaulters to take advantage of this," said another transport department officer.
Notices will be sent to all defaulters, and after three notices, stricter measures will be enforced. The authorities plan to use the legal provisions of the West Bengal Public Demand Recovery Act to collect unpaid taxes.
Additionally, the state government is considering a new rule that would require buyers of luxury cars to pay 15 years of road tax upfront.
"If premium car owners continue to ignore their tax dues, we will have no choice but to enforce a 15-year tax payment at the time of purchase," the officer stated.
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