Motorists fume as Telangana RTA drives up service charges

Time of India

18 hours ago

Hyderabad: Applicants attempting to book slots for various transactions at the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) woke up to a rude shock on Sunday as they found a sudden increase in charges across several services.
The revision came into effect at 2 am.
The new rate-card shows that RTA has revised fees anywhere from Rs 100 to Rs 1,000 — with a fourfold jump in rates for a no-objection certificate (NOC). Available for Rs 100 until now, every NOC will now cost a motorist Rs 435. The cost for terminating vehicle agreements for four-wheelers has also been substantially increased from Rs 2,135 to Rs 3,135. Even commonly availed costs, right from learners' licence to vehicle hypothecation, have been brought under the new price umbrella.
Motorists applying for any licence will have to cough up an additional Rs 100.
The only exemptions: Permits, vehicle fitness assessments, taxes on vehicles from other states, permit cancellations, life taxes, and quarterly taxes.
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10k applicants to be impacted
This revision — brought in three years after a hike on life taxes — is likely to impact at least 10,000 daily applicants at all RTA offices across the state. In 2022, the Telangana govt had raised life taxes under the Telangana Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1963, with increases ranging from 9% to 19% based on vehicle cost and category.
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Many applicants, while ruing the sharp rise, also complained about the current revision being implemented surreptitiously without prior public announcement or notification. In fact, the RTA website: www.transport.telangana.gov.in is yet to be updated with these new charges.
Speaking to TOI, some said that they realised that the fees had been hiked only when they went to their RTA office to avail of a service.
'I tried to secure a learner's licence slot two days ago, when the fee displayed was Rs 450.
However, I encountered technical issues and couldn't complete the booking. When I tried again on Sunday, I was surprised to see that the total amount had risen to Rs 550, with the service charge component having increased from Rs 100 to Rs 200,' said K Venkatesh, an applicant from Uppal.
Move to increase revenue: RTA
RTA officials said that the revision was aimed at enhancing revenue. 'Only service charges, which have remained unchanged for several years, have been increased.
However, we need to monitor the situation for at least one month to assess how these increased charges contribute to revenue enhancement,' MM Chandrasekhar Goud, joint transport commissioner (IT & Vigilance), told TOI.
Sources, on the other hand, hinted at the move being designed to accommodate tax exemptions being offered to EV buyers. Incidentally, since the Telangana govt implemented its EV policy on Nov 16, 2024, Rs 400 crore (approx) tax has been exempted through sales of more than 50,000 EVs.
'The govt's actions are unfair, as they offer complete tax relief to electric vehicles while parallelly raising service charges,' said M Dayanand, general secretary, Telangana Auto and Motor Welfare Union.'The facilities at their offices lack essential amenities for the public, and applicants are forced to wait in long queues for their turn. It is disappointing that despite these ongoing service deficiencies, the RTA has implemented increased service charges.
I urge the govt authorities to reinstate the previous fee structure, in the interest of the public.'