50% dip in national permit fee for tourist buses?

NEW DELHI: The all India permit fee for tourist buses is likely to fall by over 50% of what the operators currently pay to state governments such as in Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, once the Centre notifies the National Permit rules for such buses and other vehicles. This will make travel seamless across states and reduce corruption.
The road transport ministry has set in motion the process to bring this major reform and has published a draft notification.
Currently, several states charge higher permit fees, yearly or per seat, from tourist buses that come from other states. Data provided by Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI) show that states including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry charge higher permit fees up to two-and-half times more than what they charge from buses that are registered in the home state.
The ministry has proposed a uniform authorisation fee which will be charged by the states and there will be only “one permit fee” for all states based on the passenger capacity. The yearly permit fee for an air-conditioned bus carrying more than 23 passengers has been proposed at Rs 3 lakh and Rs 75,000 for an AC mini bus with 10 to 23 passengers. The authorisation fee has been proposed between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 for all categories of tourist vehicles.