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Transport Ministers to discuss tax uniformity

Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL: Transport Ministers and officials from eight north Indian States would meet in Bhopal this Saturday to draw strategies to rationalise taxation and bring about uniformity in penalties being charged by different States at the inter-State barriers.

Briefing newspersons, the State Transport Minister, Uma Shankar Gupta, said on Thursday that Ministers from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh would attend the meeting, which is a follow up of their first meeting held at Agra on December 11 and 12 last year.

Follow-up of Agra meet

It was decided at the Agra meeting that there should be uniformity in taxation across different States and a working group, headed by the Rajasthan Transport Secretary, was set up to evolve ways for meeting this objective.

The recommendations of this working group would be taken up for consideration at the Bhopal meeting.

Mr. Gupta said the Ministers would get an opportunity to discuss the difficulties being encountered in maintaining inter-State bus services and also due to the rising losses of State Transport Corporations.

He drew special attention to the fact that while there was no State Transport Corporation in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh Government had decided to disband its existing Transport Corporation.

Mr. Gupta stressed the need to amend the Motor Vehicles Act and said the maximum permissible weight for trucks should be increased from the present limit of 10 tonnes.

He said the Centre should prioritise the transport sector and introduce a transport policy.

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Transport Ministers to discuss tax uniformity

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