Private bus owners demand permit tax waiver for lockdown period
Private bus owners in Madhya Pradesh have demanded waiver of permit tax for the period between April and June this year, saying they could not operate their business during these three months due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown. They said they might even stop plying their buses if the state government does not accept their demand.
A delegation is scheduled to meet the CM on Saturday
The President of Prime Route Bus Owners Association in Madhya Pradesh, Govind Sharma, said a delegation of the private bus operators is scheduled to meet Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday evening to seek a waiver of around Rs. 200 crore tax amount. If the talks with the government fail, we are going to think about discontinuing our services, he said.
We can't pay taxes as we incurred massive losses: Sharma
We have to pay monthly permit tax for the buses. From April to June, our buses almost remained off roads due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown in the state. We have faced massive losses and don't have money to pay the tax, Sharma said. Private operators run around 35,000 buses in the state, he said, adding that some of them own 10 to 40 buses.
Private bus owners owe around Rs. 200 crore in taxes
Sharma said that the private bus owners owe around Rs. 200 crore to the state government in the form of permit tax for the last three months. Bus service in the state is mostly dependent on private operators after the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPSRTC) was declared defunct many years ago.
