Re-registration Of Outside Vehicles
DB seeks response from Transport Department
JKUT (Srinagar), July-13-2021-( JNF):- A Division Bench of Jammu & Kashmir High Court comprising Chief Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Sanjay Dhar had issued a notice to Hirdesh Singh Commissioner/Secretary to Transport Department, Pardeep Kumar Transport Commissioner and Manzoor Ahmed ARTO in a contempt petition on a fresh circular on June 10 this year on re-registration of the vehicles with outside number and levying token tax on them in J&K.
When the contempt petition came-up for hearing, Division Bench observed that in the contempt petition, the petitioner through Sr, 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.
During the course of hearing counsel for the petitioner submitted that despite the judgment and order, the respondents are demanding 9% token tax from the owners of the vehicles, who have applied for assignment of new registration mark in the UT of J&K even though their vehicles are duly registered outside J&K and have already paid life time tax on those vehicles.
Mr. Aman Ali, counsel appearing for the Transport Department has filed statement of facts. The same is taken on record.
DB after gone through the statement of facts observed that the said statement of facts falls short of indicating a provision under which the Transport Department can realize tax again on a motor vehicle on which a life time tax has already been paid in a different state.
Upon this Division Bench issued notice to respondents and directed them to file response within a month. JNF