Entry tax hits taxi services to Panchkula

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 16

The next time you book a ride through app-based taxi service providers Ola and Uber for Panchkula or neighbouring areas in Haryana from Punjab or Chandigarh, don’t be surprised if the driver refuses your request or the app shows “no cars available”. The services of both service providers have been “disrupted”.

The reason is the decision of the Haryana Government to charge an inter-state border toll of Rs 100 for five-seater cars registered outside the state from April 1. The taxi operators have the option of buying a monthly pass for Rs 3,000 or pay a one-time entry tax of Rs 9,000 for three months. The increase in taxes applies to the whole of Haryana.

Before the tax structure was changed, the drivers used to pay a one-time entry tax of Rs 950 for three months to the Regional Transport Authority. According to Ola and Uber, around 75-85 per cent of the commercial taxis plying in the tricity are registered with the Punjab Transport Department. Hence, each time a taxi bearing a Punjab registration number enters the jurisdiction of Haryana, it has to pay Rs 100 as inter-state border toll or has the option of buying a monthly pass for Rs 3,000 or a quarterly pass for Rs 9,000.

Since commuters are not willing to pay the increased tax, the drivers refuse to accept the ride request.

“The commuters ask for the fare estimate and when we ask them that in addition to the fare, they will have to pay the entry tax, they refuse. Hence, we have stopped accepting requests to Panchkula district,” said Rajesh Kumar, a driver working with Uber. The taxi drivers admitted that they were declining rides to Panchkula because of the recent change in the tax structure. From Rs 950 for three months, which they had to pay earlier, they now have to pay Rs 100 per ride, making it over Rs 9,000 for the same period.

“These days we are giving an offer for a ride up to 7 km for Rs 49. If a commuter travels from the city to Panchkula and the distance is less than 7 km, he has to pay Rs 49, but the driver has to shell out Rs 100 as entry tax,” said a spokesperson for Uber.