Calcutta, March 17: Those keeping a lakh aside for a Nano this Puja may have to save up some more, unless Asim Dasgupta answers dealers’ prayers.

Unlike the Union budget, which slashed small-car prices, the Bengal budget has slapped an additional one-time levy over and above the existing road tax on all new cars. The tax is expected to fetch the Bengal government an extra Rs 15 crore during the next financial year.

“We are yet to decide the exact levy per model. That will be worked out in due course. The levy will range between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000. The amount charged on a car will depend on the model, seating and engine capacity,” transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury said.

“So every time one registers a car, one has to pay the one-time levy,” he added.

In Bengal, besides registration fees and annual car insurance, road tax is charged every five years.

The one-time tax on cars — and not transport vehicles — has been charged under Section 9B(1) of the West Bengal Additional Tax and One-Time Tax on Motor Vehicles Act, 1989.

Union finance minister P. Chidambaram had cut excise duty on small cars by 4 per cent, following which manufacturers announced price reductions.

A Nano at a Geneva motor show

Tata Motors had reduced its Indica and Indigo prices by Rs 13,000. Maruti cut prices by Rs 6,500-18,000 and Hyundai made the Santro cheaper by Rs 8,000-13,000.

The Bengal tax will come into force in a year the Nano, the world’s cheapest car, is set to roll out of the Singur plant.

But Tata Motors dealers hope the government will spare the “people’s car” the additional levy.

“We hope the state government will make an exception for the Nano since it is the first of its kind not only in the state and the country but the whole world,” said Binod Agarwal, director of car dealer Lexus Motors Ltd.

Automobile industry sources did not sound too perturbed by the new tax. “The one good thing is that it is a one-time levy. However, the state government should have done something about the procedure of road tax renewal every five years. It is inconvenient, gets carried over and encourages default,” a source said.