In response to a petition filed by vehicle owners in the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the imposition of entry tax on vehicles with All India Tourist Permit or National Permit (NP) registration from other states, the state of Kerala has decided against imposing such a tax. Simultaneously, the Tamil Nadu (TN) government has also conveyed to the SC that it will refrain from charging entry tax on NP vehicles. This joint decision ensures that neither the Kerala nor the TN government will collect entry tax from individuals such as Gireesh, the owner of the Robin bus.
The background of this decision involves an earlier interim order by the SC, which restrained the collection of entry tax based on petitions submitted by various private bus owners contesting the imposition of special entry tax by state governments. The private bus owners argued that vehicles were being detained during late-night hours and early morning, causing inconvenience to passengers. Senior advocate S. Muralidhar, representing the private vehicle owners, even called for contempt of court proceedings against the tax collectors.
The TN government, while acknowledging its failure to implement the court’s interim order, assured the SC that entry taxes would not be collected in the future. In response, the SC issued a contempt notice to the TN government but exempted the officials involved from personal appearances.
Following this development, when the TN government pledged not to collect entry tax, the petitioners urged the court to impose a similar restriction on Kerala. In response to this plea, senior advocate Jayanth Muthuraj and standing counsel Nishe Rajan Sonkar, representing Kerala, assured the court that the state would comply with the SC’s interim order. This decision reflects a resolution to the legal dispute and establishes that neither Kerala nor Tamil Nadu will impose entry tax on vehicles with All India Tourist Permit or National Permit registration.
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