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Sunday, September 7, 2008

All you wanted to know about toll tax exemption to private vehicles of defence personnel

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As most of you must be aware, private vehicles of defence personnel are exempted from payment of toll tax on all public and private roads and bridges in the country. The toll exemption orders obtained by me were also upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court (Read about it here) thereby settling a long pending controversy on the issue. Time and again queries have been raised on various aspects of toll exemption. In order to clarify all such doubts, I am providing links to two such self-explanatory letters at the end of this post addressed by me to various establishments which should help in bringing about some more clarity on the subject.
Be that as it may, the answers to most of your common queries are as follows :

(a) That the Indian Tolls (Army & Air Force) Act, 1901, provides for toll exemption to personnel of regular forces and their private vehicles at all times, irrespective of whether they are on duty or not.

(b) That there is no requirement of being ‘in uniform’ to avail toll exemption.

(c) That toll exemption is available all over the country on both private and public roads and bridges. Central and State governments are both under the ambit of the Act.

(d) That at present, Delhi-Noida-Delhi (DND) Flyway is not providing toll exemption but the case has not been finally decided and is very much pending vide an Appeal. The matter is again sub judice.

(e) That ex-servicemen are not entitled to toll exemption and various representations on the issue would not serve any purpose being contrary to the legislative provisions and mandate of the Act. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways as a goodwill gesture has already exempted ex-servicemen who are gallantry award winners from payment of toll tax on National Highways. Roads and bridges other than NHs are not under the purview of MoRTH.

(f) That the Hon’ble Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the exemption to private vehicles of defence personnel on all private and public roads and bridges all over the country. The Hon’ble Supreme Court refused to strike down Section 3 of the Act which provides for exemption.


Click here to view a self-explanatory letter on all aspects of toll exemption

Click here to see a letter on toll exemption on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway

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40 comments:

Anonymous said...

While this may look good , we need to realise that this demeans us & makes us a loser in big issues like pay commssion.
The general feeling is that services personnel are getting lot of benefits which are not available to other categories.
For e.g why do retired armed forces personnel get liquor at subsidised rates

Anonymous said...

Dear Navneet,
The efforts put in by you to uphold the privileges available to Defense pers are praiseworthy. May I request you to publish auth for exemption of entertainment tax at movie halls?
And why the different implementations by diff state govts? Some not honoring the order. Delhi not giving this exception to officers etc. Which all state govts allow this exception. May i request the army officers to update this info about the state in which they are posted.
Delhi- not allowed to officers.

Anonymous said...

Entratainment Tax exemption
Delhi- not allowed to officers
Very good.Do we really need such freebies & then say we have status & pride.
Please move away from such small things since it brings down our image in the eyes of every one (including our own families)
Venkatesh

Anonymous said...

Dear Navneet
An earnest request.
Please do not let the main issue concerning all of us go in the background by raising issues which can be resolved later.Please focus on our fight for honour.You must be feeling the pulse by looking at number of comments these issues are drawing.I feel that a large No of brother offrs are still not fully aware what has been done to us.They are still busy calculating their raise in pay packets,unaware of sinister design being played against faujis.I do not agree with so called other blogs,sailing in the same boat,when they say we do not need acidic tongues.Acidic tongues,muscle flexing is what is required to get yourself heard.Tell them to confine their intellect to their own blogs.You crry on with your upfront and plain talking.
Heard that govt is considering moving Lt Cols with 14 yrs service in Pb-4.Any news on that.

Anonymous said...

Hon'ble Defence Minister has gone to Us on four days trip.
The ARMED FORCES needed him at this time to help resolve the pay anomaly.May be,he has left a note for the Babus(the creators of this mess) to pursue the case.
GOD HELP THE FORCES!!!!

dr_janusx2 said...

I had recently traversed the Gurgaon toll bridge and was charged a toll on the same despite showing the toll booth operator the copies of Army letters and Supreme Court judgments on the same. I had to pay up as the traffic behind me was getting impatient and I was shown a circular by the company stating that "Only Army Officers traveling in uniform will be exempt from toll". What action , if any, can be taken against the said company? It is not the quantum of toll one has to pay that bugs me - it is the principle of the matter at hand.

Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh said...

For the post at 9.34

Unfortunately this blog does not 'just' cater to the 6th CPC but also to other military issues and benefits as the name suggests. Pay Com issues of course shall be carried whenever due..

regards

NS

Anonymous said...

@ anony 11.31

Not to worry, my dear. RM was important to bring PM into the picture. That 'little' job was done by our Chiefs on their own. As the issue is already in PM's hands - who is his own man - we will get justice. PM cannot afford to have disgruntled Armed Forces, not to mention three disgruntled Service Chiefs. Make no mistake, status quo of SPC is no longer an option to drift back to. Not after the underhand effort of the babus to square a circle!

Anonymous said...

All one can hope at this juncture is that the Service Chiefs, by challanging the cabinet decision on scpc have not bitten more then they can possibly chew. To a common man Chiefs' actions are not very far off from being mutinous. Thank God Fernandes is not the RM.

Anonymous said...

@ Navdeep

Navdeep Sir,
I am serving Commander in the Technical branch of the Navy
I am sure you would have heard of Qualification grant approved for Armed ofrce personnel in 5 CP whihc has been doubled in 6 PC.
Sir I have a question, I am a technical officer drawing tehnical allowance of Rs 2500/-. No where on GOI letter for qualification grant it mentions that perosnnel drawing tech allowance cannot claim qualification grant as qualification grant is for additonal qualification which u have obtained( like i have complteted my MBA and thus i am entitled for 10000/- grant)
However, CDA has objected to these claims saying if u draw tech allowance u cannot claim qualification grant and has sent back all the case in last.

Could you please throw some lght on this as to how is CDA right in objecting something hihc has been cleared by GOI??

Secondly with your knowledge have you come across any case like thsi?
regards
Prakash

Anonymous said...

MUTINOUS!!!!
If asking for your due is termed as mutinous,so be it."Thank God Fernandes is not the RM",else he would have hanged the chiefs????
Chiefs are capable of biting and chewing much more than what you think and that is why they have been made chiefs of second largest Army in the world.Do not waste time and space writing such provocative comments.

Anonymous said...

If I am not mistaken, Fernandes turned the screw and despatched the concerned babus to Saichen for a week. That solved all the hardcore objections the babus had against the Army. Unwillingness to fight against injustice is sometimes also termed as cowardice!

Anonymous said...

Prakash

The rule states that you should have stopped taking the qualification pay for 2 yrs before you ask for the qual grant.
However, it is applicable only if your q pay and q grant are of same level / from same schedule (ie highest rates/mid rates / low rates). But I dont think it applies to Tech Pay and q grant. The babu is delaying your payment. Fix him

Anonymous said...

THE FOURTH PAY COMM CARVED RANK PAY OUT OF YOUR BASIC.
SO WHEN THE FIFTH PAY COMM INCREASED THE BASIC FOR ALL BY 3.6 TIMES, THE RANK PAY INCREASED ONLY 2 TIMES THUS A LT COL LOST OUT ON 1000/- PM ON THE RANK PAY. ALSO A LT COL RANK WAS ACHIEVED AT 18 YRS OF SERVICE ie BASIC OF 4000/-, THIS WHEN MULTIPLIED BY 3.6 TIMES MAKES IT 14400, WHEREAS THE MIN BASIC FOR LT COL WAS 13500/-.

TO CALCULATE OTHERWAY

THE RANK PAY WAS CARVED OUT OF BASIC PAY,MISCHIEVOUSLY, BY THE FIN MIN BABUS. POINT ACCEPTED BY SUPREME COURT.

SO THE BASIC PAY OF A LT COL, WHEN MOST OF THE SENIOR LT COLs JOINED THE ARMY, WAS ADVERTISED TO BE 4000+800(RANK PAY).

THE FIFTH PAY COMM MULTIPLIED ALL BASIC PAY BY 3.6, HENCE THE LT COL’s BASIC SHOULD HAVE BEEN = 4800 X 3.6 = 17200.
BUT IT WAS REDUCED TO 13500+1600 = 15100.

EVEN IF WE TAKE THE MINM SERVICE TO BECOME LT COL AS 16.5 YEARS AS IN CASE OF ARMY/PILOTS, STILL THE DOWNGRADATION WAS CLEAR AND NOW SPC WANTS TO DOWNGRADE YOU FURTHER.
YOU ALL SHOULD GO TO COURT FOR REDUCING YOUR PAY AND STATUS BY EVERY PAY COMM AND ALSO FOR LURING YOU BY WRONGFUL ADVERTISING.

Anonymous said...

Could you please clarify on the rule position on maintaining the same registration of the car in diffrent staes for defence personnel? Do I need to get the registration changed after retirement on my existing car?

Unknown said...

What is the rule position on maintaining the existing registration on private vehicles of defence personnel on posting to a different state? Can we maintain the existing registration even after retirement?

Anonymous said...

Only 16 comments since last 24h.Brother offrs seems to have reconciled being in PB-4 or spending time in prayer.Nothing is going to help other than shouting at your highest pitch.Don't you feel baffled by calculated silence being maint by all,as if a written and probably signed representation by Chiefs does not matter to them.
They are just buying time for the issue to die its own death,and they seem to be succeeding.Friends its now or never.Even Chiefs have taken a stand compromising their chances of going as Governers.Do not get carried away by views on some blogs talking of decency,restrain and logic.Illogical abberations can never be countered and corrected with logic.Do not go in slumber,cry as if your life is in peril.

Anonymous said...

Line3-FOR PB-4
READ PB-3.

Anonymous said...

Sir,

This is regarding pay of PBOR of Armed Forces. As per 6th CPC, a newly recruited jawan in Y Gp will get a basic pay of Rs 5200 +
grade pay Rs 2000 + MSP Rs 2000/- = 9200/-. At the same time a newly commissioned officer will get basic pay - 15600/- + Grade pay 5400/- + MSP 6000/- = 27000/-. Earlier a newly enrolled jawan got a basic pay of Rs 3250/- and a lieutenant Rs 8250/- . The difference was Rs 5000/-. Now the difference is 27000 - 9200 = 15800/-. Almost triple time increase in the difference of pay of a lieutenant and a jawan. 3.27 time increase in the pay of a lieutenant where as 2.83 time increase in the pay of a jawan. It is our humble request to our Superior officers that a jawans basic pay be fixed at Rs 5500/- and MSP be Rs 3000/- for PBOR with grade pay as announced earlier.

Anonymous said...

HATS Off to you navdeep.. u r right all of us need to stand up n fight for our RIGHTS.. no one else will do it.. carry on regardless... with u in this fight for justice..

Anonymous said...

for Navdeep

on the delhi - noida - delhi flyover (DND), army pers are still paying toll tax even though the case is sub judice, as per your posts on this blog.

is this legal?

also, the attendant there shows a photocopy of a newspaper clipping in which the delhi high court has said (sometime in apr 07) that toll tax act 1903 notwithstanding, all army pers will pay toll tax on the DND.

in r/o the above two issues, what is the correct course of action for the army pers? should we pay toll or not? how do we justify our stand to the attendant there?

pl guide.
thnx

Anonymous said...

Sir,
A small clarification. Is the exemption from paying toll/ charges also applicable for parking of pvt vehicles (of defence pers) at public places such as malls, municipal parking lots, raliway stations ect? If so what is the authority? Grateful if you could inform.
Regards,
Praveer

Anonymous said...

I am not sure of the authenticity of the letter given below, but it states that even ex-servicemen are exempt from paying toll tax. Can someone examine and bring out the status on toll tax exemption. Thanks

National Highways Authority of India
(Ministiy of Road Trasspcrl and Highways)
.JM(CM)Office
Santa Vihar. Near SV fly Over, New Delhi- 110044. Ph: OIl -2498
NHAI/CN4U/GMA OIE’EXEMP/l’oll Ta d 1166
To,
PWD ACOS.
EDP Enclave,
Rae TWa Ram Marg.
Delhi Cantt:- 110010
November 17 2006
Sir.
Sub: Exemption from i’oll Tax
I. Refer letter no: 316801/PMO A.CCCES!07!A dated 28 October 2003.
2. Defence Personal/Ex. Servicemen and their families are exempted from paying tax on production of 1—Card.
Yours Faithfully,
Sd!
Col Sanjiv Purl (len. Manager (CM)
Authority: Ministry of Road Transport and Highways letter No: NFl1 203 7’278’2003 PBNHi/datedJno.2O0j
/
T&T :4*tp
fiw w4cpr4 .f’%”
— ‘ MR ,

Navdeep / Maj Navdeep Singh said...

@Anony 3.56 02 August

That letter was confirmed by NHAI to be a fake one.

RK said...

Dear Sir
I am an officer from the CRPF and as you know we also have to move at all times and even move at a very short notice,and our deployment also stretch from north to south and west to east,all corners of the country,I want to know whether this Toll exemption is available to us also since the act of 1901 also discusses about Regular Forces ,,,,Is CRPF not considered as Regular Force in fact we are recognised as Other Armed Forces of the Union of India,as the new notification we are given exemption under clause (b)(ii)of the new notification dt 3 Dec 2010 issued by MoRTH ,,As such may like to clarify as to why are we also not covered under the provisions of the 1901 act as REGULAR FORCES.

Rahul Kumar

RK said...

Dear Sir

May please read the below written lines--
"As such may like to clarify as to why are we also not covered under the provisions of the 1901 act as REGULAR FORCES."

AS--- "Please clarify are we also covered under this provision of the exemption of 1901 act as REGULAR FORCES"

jeevan said...

sir,
can defence personnel maintain the existing registration of private vehicles when moving on posting to a different state? lately in some states the defence personnel are being fined for using other state registration numbers...

Anonymous said...

dear navdeep

i am in a state of confusion, is the vehicle registered under the name of a serving army officer exempted from paying the toll if he is not in the vehicle at that time? and that his wife and child are only present in the vehicle?

Anonymous said...

Dear Navdeep, why don't you post a scanned copy of the letter/authority for toll exemption. That will be much better than the transcribed true copy already posted.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

Dear major...
The forum has given insight to our rights and privileges......Thank you sir....

Many of serving personnel are having 2/4 wheelers these days....
Some of us sell our used vehicles to our fellow soldiers. My question is....

I sold my kerala registered vehicle to a soldier of UP. He is serving now at tamil nadu and will be retiring in Oct 2014 and then only will be taking the vehicle to UP.I am from kerala. The vehicle is 2004 model ford ikon . The kerala RTO dont permit to change the ownership without applying for NOC . As the soldier is UP residing man and will be going to his home state after one year what should he do to avoid double road taxation ,one in Tamil nadu and one in UP. Date : 17/03/2013

hemu said...

Dear sir
Thanx a lot for educating all of us on various aspects of service privileges.But of late it has been noticed that toll booth operators behave in totally uncivilized manner and does not agrees to your contentions of toll tax exemption for defense offrs.
Recently same thing was witnessed by me, when i was travelling in my own personal car(RC under my name only) from delhi to jhunjhunu (rajasthan) at a toll booth(T3) near to jhunjhunu which is being operated by RCCL Infrastruture Ltd asked for toll tax despite me informing that i m a serving offr and toll tax is exempted for defence. To that thay did not agreed and finally i had to pay .
now i want to take some action against the company, pl tell me the process to go about it.

Anonymous said...

dear sir
i want to know that yamuna expressway is exempted from toll tax?

Anonymous said...

Can you please elaborate on the following:-
1. Are dependents exempted from paying toll tax if travelling in a vehicle registered on the name of thier son (Serving army personnel)?

2. Does a serving armed forces personnel have to pay toll if travelling in a civil hired transport while on leave?

Unknown said...

Dear Sir,
With due regard I want to know whether the defence personal are exempted from toll tax on roads other than national highways. I face this problem every time whenever I travel to my home town from duty station in my personal car. This is about toll collection centre on a state road in Rajasthan. after all If I am compelled to pay the toll, To whom I should contact in that situation.

Wanderlust said...

Dear Sir

Can you please enlighten whether exemption is given to Territorial Army officers also.

Regards
Abhay Sharma

Anonymous said...

MR.....

Dear Sir,

I wanted to know what is the rule position on registration of our personal vehicles when we get posted from one state to another. Are we supposed to re-register every time we move on posting or are we exempted from this? Secondly, does this change after retirement? In case I bought a vehicle while in service and registered it in Punjab, thereafter retired and settled in Karnataka. Do I have to re-register in Karnataka after retirement?

Unknown said...

Sir,
In your letter addressed to Additional Director General of Movement, the Appendices A to N are not visible. Pls make them available so that fight for right continues. Also since Toll Act also makes it punishable to demand toll tax from the exempted categories, how can one complaint the same, to police (loging FIR) or relevant authority. Pls guide, since violations have started.
Thanking you.
LUHAR HGNIS

ganesh said...

Dear Navneet,
Toll collectors on Mumbai Thane highway are showing a letter dated 17 Jun by director toll stating that toll tax is. NOT exempted to serving defence personnel if travelling in pvt vehicle without an and are charging it. they are asking for any other later dated after 17 Jun 14 which states that the toll tax is exempt to serving defence personnel in pvt vehicle.

Unknown said...

I had purchased a two wheeler when i was posted in visakhapatnam with andhra registration, and i had to move in a very short time due to which i was not able to take any noc from the rto visakhapatnam, now i am retired and presently in mumbai, but i am not able to use my vehicle as the police keep on harrassing me, is there any provision of online noc from andhra application, please intimate,

Unknown said...

Dear Navneet,

I would like to know if there is a requirement of re-registration of vehicle whenever a serving personnel gets transferred from one state to another.