MVA does not mandate re-registration fee: HC quashes 9 pc tax demand on vehicle outside J&K

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: While quashing 9 per cent tax demand on Vehicle outside J&K, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has clarified that once a motor vehicle is registered upon payment of the prescribed fee under the Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, such registration is valid throughout India, and there is no provision for re-registration or the imposition of additional fees upon re-registration.
Striking down the imposition of a 9 per cent token tax on a vehicle brought into the Union Territory from Haryana, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani ruled that this additional tax was illegal and discriminatory.
The case originated when petitioner Ishfaq Ahmad Tramboo, a resident of Srinagar, brought his vehicle, initially registered in Gurgaon, Haryana, to the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir in October 2023. As Tramboo intended to use the vehicle in the UT for more than 12 months, he sought to have it registered with the local authorities as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
However, respondent 3, the local transport authority, demanded that Tramboo pay 9 per cent of the vehicle’s declared value, approximately Rs. 4.00 lakh, as a condition for assigning a new registration mark.
Petitioner heavily relied on a previous Division Bench judgment in Zahoor Ahmad Bhat and another vs. Government of J&K and Others (, where the Court had ruled that lifetime tax could not be levied merely on the presumption that a vehicle registered outside Jammu and Kashmir had remained in the UT for over 12 months.
On the other hand, the respondents defended the demand, citing Section 3 of the J&K Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957, which they argued allowed them to charge a token tax (road usage tax) on vehicles registered outside the UT.
Justice Javed Iqbal observed that the Act mandates the registration of a vehicle only once, with the assigned registration mark being valid across.
The Act does not provide for re-registration or the payment of additional fees when a vehicle is moved to another state or UT, apart from specific provisions related to the assignment of a new registration mark after 12 months, the court underscored.
Clarifying that the J&K Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1957, operates in a different domain and does not serve as a prerequisite for the registration of a vehicle under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 Justice Wani cited the earlier Division Bench judgment in Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, which was upheld by the Supreme Court and reiterated that lifetime tax could not be imposed on the presumption of the vehicle’s extended stay in the UT. In light of these observations, the Court allowed the petition, directing the respondents to assign a new registration mark to Tramboo’s vehicle without demanding the 9 per cent token tax.