J. GREEEDA SUDHASINI Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TELANGANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner sought for a Writ of Mandamus to declare the action of the third respondent, the Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, Regional Transport Authority, Secunderabad in seizing and detaining the petitioners Light Motor Vehicle (Car) bearing Registration No.TN -59 -AA -3333 under vehicle check report No.000284 dated 12.06.2014 without conducting any enquiry as illegal and arbitrary and consequently to direct the respondent to release the vehicle to the petitioner herein immediately.

(2.) THE petitioner claimed ownership of a light motor vehicle, a car which is registered in the State of Tamil Nadu on 22.10.2003. The vehicle bears Registration No.TN -59 -AA -3333. The vehicle is a Sedan manufactured by General Motors limited. Its cubic capacity is recorded as 1800 cc and makers class is recorded as OPTRA 1.8 LT. Its unladen weight is recorded as 1265 kgs. The registration certificate is valid upto 21.10.2018. It is the case of the petitioner that she had come to Hyderabad to visit her brothers house situate at Manasarovar heights, RTC Colony, Secunderabad, using the said vehicle. The petitioner has not disclosed the exact date of her entry into the composite State of Andhra Pradesh. But, she described it as a recent event. However, when the motor mechanic was taking the vehicle to his garage, the Assistant Motor Inspector intercepted the same on 12.06.2014 at 11.00 AM and seized the same on the ground that it was found plying for the past two months without paying Telangana State Life Time Tax and without carrying original Registration Certificate. Hence, he seized the vehicle and kept it at R.T.A. Secunderabad. The Registration Certificate bears an endorsement that the Life Time Tax of Rs.58,800/ - has been paid obviously to the State of Tamil Nadu. The petitioner has also received a show cause notice from the Regional Transport Officer, R.T.A. Secunderabad through his Memo No 3742/SD/B2/2014 dated 20.06.2014. It is proposed by him to collect Life Time Tax of Rs.90,635/ - and a penalty of Rs.5,440/ - put together a total of Rs.96,075/ - from the petitioner.

(3.) IN response, the Regional Transport Officer, Secunderabad filed a detailed counter affidavit. It is vaguely suggested in paragraph 2 of the counter affidavit that while seizing the vehicle, the Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector had also collected tollgate and service bills from the dash board of the vehicle and thereafter, it is asserted that the petitioners vehicle has been plying in the State of Andhra Pradesh from 29.02.2012 and hence it is liable to pay Life Tax under Section 3(1) of the Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1963, as amended by Act 11 of 2010, which provision is applicable even in the State of Telangana by virtue of Section 78 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014. It is now suggested that based on the toll receipts and service bills, the show -cause notice dated 20.06.2014 was sent proposing to levy tax together with penalty amounting to Rs.96,075/ - as the vehicle was found plying in Andhra Pradesh from 29.02.2012 without payment of tax. It is the case of the respondents that the vehicle is liable to pay life tax under Sub -Sections (1) and (2) of Section 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicle Tax Act, 1963, as amended by Act No.11 of 2010 read with the entries contained in the VI Schedule to the said Act. Since the vehicle is only a 10 year old vehicle, tax is calculated at the rate of 8.5% on the cost in the vehicle. Since, it was plying in Andhra Pradesh without payment of tax, penalty at the rate 2% per month, as per Rule 13 of Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicle Taxation Rules, 1963, amounting to Rs.5,440/ - was proposed to be imposed on the vehicle. That is how, the action of the respondents in raising the demand is sought to be justified.