Transport. They monitor & supervise the functions of RTOs under their jurisdiction. They review the work performances of the RTOs at regular time intervals and report to the STA head quarters.
Similar structure of administrative organization exists in all the States. A sample of organizational structure of some of the States is given in Exhibit 8.1 to 8.3.
Procedures of Road User Tax
Importance of efficient operations of tax cannot be over emphasised. Operations are important from two significant aspects.
First, higher tax yields are directly a result of the efficient operations of the tax. It, therefore, increases income elasticity of the tax. And, secondly, as a converse corollary, inefficient operations of tax causes extreme inconvenience to tax paying dealers who come into direct contact with the tax department. Criticism of the tax, therefore, stems largely from the deficiencies in tax operations.
Vehicle Registration
Vehicle registration is compulsory to drive motor vehicle. No owner of a vehicle can use or allow or permit to any one else to use the unregistered vehicle. Vehicle is registered with Regional Transport Officer (RTO). There are three types of registrations: temporary registration, registration of New Vehicle; and registration of vehicle arrived from outstate or assignment of new registration mark (R.M.A).
Temporary Registration: To take vehicle from the dealer's premises, it needs a temporary registration. In case of non-transport vehicles, to take the vehicle to the place of registration from the dealer's premises it needs to be registered temporarily. In case of transport vehicle one needs some time to construct the body of vehicle over the chassis hence it needs a temporary registration. Temporary registration is valid for 7 days initially and can be extended up to 30 days incase of non transport vehicles. An application for temporary registration is made in the prescribed form.
Registration of New Vehicle: To apply for the permanent registration of new vehicle, it should be produced to the RTO for inspection. The vehicle is inspected by an inspector who confirms to the provision of Act and rules and then the vehicle tax is paid along with Form -20, sale certificate in form 21 (to be given by dealer), roadworthiness certificate in form 22, and 22-A from the manufacturer.
In addition, the following certificates are also required: roadworthiness certificate in form 22-A part II from the body builder for transport vehicles; transport commissioner's approval; purchase invoice (for vehicles attracting life time tax); temporary registration if any; valid insurance certificate; address proof; entry tax payment proof if any vehicle, body or tanker is purchased from outside the state; octroi receipt if registering in municipal limits; PAN number or Form-60 in two copies (expect 2 wheelers ); manufacturers certificate for invalid carriage; customs clearance certificate in case of imported vehicles along with license and bond if any.
Bill of entry is required for imported vehicles. In the case of a trailer, it is also important to produce design approval from transport commissioner. In the case of a trailer 7/12 abstract or tahasildar certificate in the case of agricultural tractor & trailer is required.
Vehicle from Outstate for Assignment of New Registration Mark (R.M.A)
If the vehicle is registered in one state and is kept or used in other state for the period of more than a year then the vehicle needs to be registered in the later state for a new registration number to be assigned. For this the NOC from original registering authority and consent of financier is needed to be furnished. In addition, apart from payment of the requisite fee, the following documents have to be submitted:
Form - 20,26,27.
Form 29,30 - incase of transfer of ownership.
Form 33 - incase of change of address only.
NOC in form 28 with chassis print affixed on it from the original registering authority along with consent from financier.
Form FT, AT.
Form TCA, TCR - incase of transport vehicles only.
Proof of payment of entry tax in case vehicle has arrived within 30 months of date of it's first registration.
An affidavit from the owner of the vehicle stating that vehicle in concerned in not involved in any accident, theft or crime.
All valid documents of the vehicle.
With all above forms and certificates the vehicle is to be produced for inspection at the R.T.O office.
Licenses:
To drive a motor vehicle in any public place a valid driving license is necessary. That is, a person must posses a license authorizing him/her to drive vehicle of that particular category. There are different types of licenses issued by the RTO offices.
There is a temporary license that is valid up to 6 months from the date of issue. It is basically issued to learn driving of Motor Vehicles. Permanent driving license is issued to those who become
eligible for it after thirty days (to apply within 180 days) from the date of issue of the learner license. Person suppose to get permanent driving license should be conversant about the vehicle systems, driving, traffic rules & regulations. In case of loss, theft, or on mutilation, a duplicate License is issued. The documents to be produced are FIR of the lost license, challan clearance report from RTA Office (in case of Commercial licence renewal) and an application in Form LLD. The particulars are verified by the authority from the records. The duplicate license will have the valid period same as the previous license. The motor licensing authority also issues international driving license. The validity of this license is for one year. Person visiting the country is required to collect the license from there within one year period. Apart from address proof and birth certificate, one has to produce a valid passport and valid visa while applying. Two-wheeler license is issued by the Regional Transport Authority (RTO) to permit driving of only two-wheeler vehicles like bike, scooter and moped. Light motor vehicle license is issued to drive light vehicles like auto rickshaws, motor car, jeep, taxi, three-wheeler delivery vans, etc. Heavy motor vehicle (HMV) License is issued to drive heavy vehicles like trucks, buses, tourist coaches, cranes, goods carriages, etc. A person with HMV license can drive light vehicles but light motor vehicle license do not permit to drive heavy vehicles.
Documentation Formalities for Different Operations
A review of different operations and procedures of the motor vehicles department indicates that for each and every activity there are different documents (forms) are prescribed to be filled in. Many of the forms call for the information that is useful for the department to take necessary action for the activity concerned. However, it is noticed that in all there are 58 forms prescribed in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989. A study of the details of each Form indicates that in all, 186 different kinds of basic data are collected by the various Transport Departments of States/UTs through these forms. The description of the various formats and important data/information collected through these forms are given at Annexure A.8.1.
A review of formats of the 58 forms, given in a matrix in Annexure A.8.2, reveals that the forms are not user-friendly. Much of the information sought in these forms is repetitive in nature and redundant. For example, every application for issue of a learning license shall be accompanied by a medical certificate in Form No. l.
An application for a medical certificate (form No. l) contains applicant's declaration pertaining to his/her physical fitness. The
information sought under "declaration" in form No.1 is repeated in form No. l-A under item No. 3. Moreover, once physical fitness of the applicant is certified by the competent authority (medical officer), the applicant's declaration in this regard does not serve any purpose. The applicant's address is classified into permanent address, temporary address, official address, etc. Sub-classification of applicant's address leads to unnecessary complications and does not serve any specific purpose. Therefore, it is suggested that it should be enough to seek applicant's residential address only.
Both the date of birth and age of the applicant are to be furnished in many of the forms. It should be enough to furnish the date of birth alone as it will help calculate the age of the applicant. Form No.2, form No.4, form No.6 and form No.8 contain the details of vehicle classification as motor cycle without gear, motor cycle with gear, invalid carriage, light motor vehicle, heavy motor vehicle, medium goods vehicle, medium passenger motor vehicle, heavy goods vehicle and heavy passenger motor vehicle with the intention that the applicant should tick mark one of the vehicle categories. It is suggested that, instead, the applicant may be asked to fill in the suitable vehicle category in the given vacant space. However, to have justice to the operational requirements and convenience of taxpayers, it is suggested a Committee of Experts be appointed to examine all these aspects minutely.
Also, a detailed scrutiny of the operations at the office of the RTO suggests that for most of the activities the person has to move around to two or three windows causing waste of time and making him stand in the queue again and again. In most cases to save time people are forced to use middle man for getting things done at a cost. It is, therefore, suggested that a single window system be introduced for each of the operations.
Transfer of Vehicle
One of the activities of the RTO is to ensure smooth transfer of vehicles if a person moves from one State to another State. However, it is observed that the person going in for transfer of vehicle is put to great inconvenience, especially in relation to obtaining ‘no objection certificate’ from the origin state. In general, the department does not respond to letters. The NOC could be obtained only by personal visit, which very time consuming and costly affair. The department must evolve methods where minimum inconvenience is caused to the customer coming especially in the case vehicle transfers from one State to another and non-refund of one-time tax paid etc.
Introducing Suitable MIS
The States should introduce suitable computer technology to ensure transparent, citizen friendly services. As explained in the next chapter, it is high time that a requisite management information system is introduced in the department to have transparency, responsiveness and accountability, as per the details given in chapter 9 supra.
The above measures would pave way for the better governance of the system of road transport taxation.
To conclude, the existing system of taxation of road transport performs an important function of raising resources for the centre and the states. However, the procedures need further improvements to remove delays. Efforts must be made to curtail the role of intermediaries and curb the corruption in the system. The following reforms could be implemented:
♦ The responsibility of registration of new vehicles must be given to the dealers selling vehicles.
♦ A ready reckoner for determining tax liability should be printed and distributed by the department for the use of taxpayers. This would make the tax system transparent.
♦ The use of intermediaries must be discontinued.
The responsibility for doing so be given to the RTO concerned.
♦ A single window system for providing all services must be introduced.
♦ Procedures for national permits should be simplified.
The above reforms in management of transport taxes would streamline the procedures and do away with most of the irritants in the system.
Exhibit 8.1 Organization for Administration of MVT: Illustration of Haryana
Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary Transport Department
Transport Commissioner
Addl.Transport Comm.(A)
District Attorney
General Manager (20) Chief
Accounts Dy.
Transport Controller Sr Mechanical
Engineer Govt.
Central workshop Addl.
Transport Comm.(C)
Dy Transport Controller
,Central workshop
,Hissar Dy.Transport
Controller, Central workshop,
Karnal GM,Driv
er Training Institute, Murthul Flying
Squard Officer, ISBT, Delhi
Dy.
Transport controller
Dy. District Attorney
Driver training School (5)
Accounts officer Works manager
Traffic Manager
Store Purchase
officer
Superintendent Assistant
District Attorney
Exhibit 8.2 Organization Chart of Transport Department of Orissa
Exhibit 8.3 Organization Chart of Transport Department of UP
Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh Transport Commissioner's Office
(Transport Commissioner) Zones (6)
Dy. Transport Commissioners (DTC) Regions (19)
Regional Transport Officer (RTO) Sub-Regions (70)
Asst. Regional Transport Officers (ARTO)