Green fuel push: West Bengal offers registration fee immunity, tax breather for CNG, e-vehicles

KOLKATA: In a bid to encourage and fast-track adoption of vehicles powered by green fuel, the state government on Friday announced exemption of registration fees and that of road tax for two years on electric two-wheelers and cars and all categories of CNG vehicles.
Adoption of vehicles with cleaner fuel will pave the way for a better environment as petrol and diesel-powered vehicles contribute to 30% of the city's ambient air pollution. While there is no emission in electric vehicles, CNG burns cleaner than petrol and diesel and emits 80% less carbon monoxide and 44% less hydrocarbons. CNG cars also run quieter than gasoline and diesel vehicles.
This one-time exemption of registration fees, tax, and additional tax would be effective from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2024, stated the order issued by transport principal secretary Rajesh Kumar Sinha. According to the order, vehicles registered on or after April 1, 2022, till date of issuance of this notification, may get an extension of tax validity for the exact number of days for which tax has already been paid that falls within the period from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2024. However, adjustment or refund of registration fees, if already paid, is disallowed.
Electric vehicle manufacturers and environmentalists have been urging the state government to incentivise purchase of green-fuel vehicles that are more expensive than cars with internal combustion engines that run on petrol or diesel. Earlier, in the 2022-23 budget statement, minister of state for finance Chandrima Bhattacharya had announced a one-time exemption of tax and additional tax on battery-operated e-vehicles and on all categories of CNG-operated vehicles for the same period.