SHILLONG, MAY 29: The Joint Action Committee of truck owners in Jaintia Hills has expressed great joy and deep gratitude to the NPP led state government after the Cabinet approved a major waiver of pending vehicle taxes that had accumulated since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The JAC, comprising the East Jaintia Hills Truck Owner and Transporter Association (EJHTOTA) and the Jaintia Hills Truck Owners’ Association (JHTOA), said the relief follows two representations made to Deputy Chief Minister Sniawbhalang Dhar this year.
“To recall, on February 10 this year, the JAC met Deputy Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Bah Sniawbhalang Dhar, in person and submitted a request appealing to the Government to kindly waive all pending truck taxes that have remained unpaid since the COVID-19 pandemic till now, which truck owners could no longer pay due to the sharp decline in earnings from that period until today,” the JAC said in a statement.
The Deputy Chief Minister had assured the delegation that he would “take the matter seriously and place it before the Government.”
A second meeting was held on May 8 due to “severe hardship faced by truck owners.” The JAC said it again requested Dhar “to urgently address the difficulties of truck owners and to help them as soon as possible by waiving the vehicle tax that has put them in great distress till now.”
“Following this second meeting with the Deputy Chief Minister, the State Government, in its Cabinet meeting yesterday, took the decision and also made a public announcement that it has waived the said truck taxes — 90% on Fitness Certificates and 80% on MV Tax and Goods & Passenger Tax,” the JAC stated.
The deadline to clear the remaining dues has been fixed as August 31 this year.
JAC Assistant Secretary Deolangki Dkhar thanked Dhar for taking up the issue. “On behalf of the JAC, we express our deepest gratitude to the Deputy Chief Minister of the State, Sniawbhalang Dhar, for taking our request seriously regarding this hardship of us truck owners, by bringing the matter before the State Cabinet, and for the Government’s waiver of our truck taxes,” Dkhar said.
“This help from the Government to us truck owners is a huge blessing for us as the JAC and for all others in the state who have faced the same hardship, and we will continue to praise this from time to time,” he added.
JAC Chairman Biangshwa Shylla also acknowledged Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma. “We also express our deepest gratitude to the Chief Minister of the State, Conrad K Sangma, for the Government’s attention to our hardship as truck owners by waiving our truck taxes,” Shylla said.
“This goodwill shown by the Government towards us is a great blessing for all of us in the State who own trucks for our livelihood, and we will continue to praise this for days to come,” he said.
The JAC has urged members to use the window to regularise their papers. “Therefore, in connection with this, the JAC urges all its members to take this as the best opportunity to try and clear within the stipulated time set by the Government all their pending vehicle taxes after deducting the percentage waived by the State Government for all truck owners,” Dkhar said.
