Private and commercial vehicle owners have started receiving text alerts and letters from the transport department reminding them of their road tax dues.
Sources in the transport department said the primary targets are those who have not paid their dues since 2020.
A senior transport department official said the state government can suspend a vehicle’s registration and withdraw the permit for a commercial vehicle if the dues are not paid.
While the transport department has yet to determine the total number of defaulters, officials said the dues run into several hundred crores.
“It was assumed that some of these vehicles, whose owners have not cleared the road tax, had well past their running condition. But footage from toll tax booths and other points revealed they were moving around without clearing their road taxes,” a senior transport department official said.
“These vehicles have been identified. Reminders are being sent to the owners.”
The text alert to a vehicle’s owner states that the validity of the road tax has expired, and the owner should clear it within seven days of receiving the message. In addition, a letter from the concerned regional transport office, where the vehicle is registered, is also being sent.
“Under the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, the state government can move to cancel registration of a vehicle and even withdraw the permit offered to a commercial vehicle on the ground of non-payment of the tax,” an official said. “Some vehicle owners have started responding.”
Recovery of tax dues has remained a challenge for several government departments and urban bodies across the state.
Last year, the transport department floated a waiver scheme to recover pending dues. Vehicle owners were offered a full waiver on road tax penalties if they cleared their dues by March 31. Commercial vehicle owners were offered an 80 per cent waiver on penalties for non-payment of permit fees and non-renewal of fitness certificates if paid up by March 31.
“The scheme did not yield the desired results. Against a target of around ₹1,000 crore, the state government could collect around ₹200 crore,” the transport official said.
This year, the state government has shied from announcing fresh waiver schemes. Instead, officers said the transport department has decided to send SMS alerts.
“Apart from road tax, we have decided to send SMS alerts in case the fitness certificate of a commercial vehicle has expired,” he added.