HC issues notice to Transport Deptt over Re-registration of vehicles with `outside’ number

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court has issued a notice to Commissioner/Secretary Transport Department, Hirdesh Kumar, and two others in a contempt petition filed against them for issuance of a fresh circular on June 10 this year for re-registration of the vehicles with outside number and levying token tax on them in J&K.  

The other two include Transport Commissioner Pardeep Kumar and in-charge RTO Kashmir, Manzoor Ahmed.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sanjay Dhar asked the respondents to file their response within a month and fixed the contempt petition for August 24.

While taking on record the statement of facts filed by advocate Aman Ali, counsel for the Transport Department, the bench observed that the statement of facts, filed by the Transport Department, do not reveal the provision under which the department can realize “tax again” on a motor vehicle on which a life time tax has already been paid in a different state. 

In the contempt petition, the petitioner through senior counsel Faisal Qadiri, contended that circular issued by the Commissioner/Secretary Transport Department was against the “purport” of the High Court’s April 29 judgment by virtue of which RTO Kashmir’s order regarding re-registration of the vehicles from outside J&K was quashed. 

Among others, the judgment provides that a vehicle once registered in any state of India, shall not be required to be registered elsewhere in the country.

However, it said, that a motor vehicle registered in one state and, if kept for a period exceeding 12 months in another state, shall apply to the Registering Authority of the new state/UT for the assignment of the new registration mark and once the life time tax has been levied and paid on a motor vehicle at the point of the registration of a vehicle, no further tax can be levied and demanded on the vehicle, on it being removed from one state to another.

Senior advocate Faisal Qadiri argued that despite the April 29 judgment and order, the Transport department was demanding 9 per cent token tax from the owners of the vehicles, who have applied for assignment of new registration mark in the J&K even though their vehicles are duly registered outside J&K and have already paid life time tax on those vehicles.

“In view of the facts and circumstances, we direct for issuing notice to (Commissioner/Secretary to Transport Department, Transport Commissioner and in-charge RTO Kashmir ) in person, who may file their response within one month,” the court said as per GNS and posted the contempt petition on August 24.