CNG-fuelled vehicles get green cess exemption

The AAP government has clarified that a commercial vehicle which is completely empty and has no goods whatsoever will be charged the environment compensation charge, or green cess, as stipulated by the Supreme Court. The CNG-fuelled vehicles, however, have now been given an exemption from the cess.

A notification to this effect, issued by special secretary (environment) Kulanand Joshi, said that the CNG-fuelled vehicles would be given an exemption. “The vehicles will be treated as exempt if it is carrying exempted goods or if it is carrying at least three-fourth of its carrying capacity.”

Following the directions of Supreme Court, the AAP government had doubled the environment compensation charge on such vehicles. The government had earlier imposed the green cess on commercial vehicles entering Delhi, in addition to the toll tax, from November 1 last year for four months on a trial basis to check pollution levels in the city.

Sources said that confusion prevailed whether the green cess should be imposed over the completely empty commercial vehicles and CNG-fitted vehicles. The notification on the revised cess issued recently by the AAP government says that any vehicles partially laded or carrying any goods which are not under the exempted category and are bound for Delhi will now be treated as laden vehicles and will have to pay twice the green cess as stipulated by the Supreme Court in its order in October.

The apex court had ordered green cess of Rs 700 for category 2 (light duty vehicles) and category 3 (axle trucks) vehicles, Rs 1,300 for category 4 (3-axle trucks) and Category 5 (4-axle trucks and above). Now, with the new notification in place, Categories 2 and 3 will have to pay Rs 1,400 as cess while as Categories 4 and 5 will have to shell out Rs 2,600.

Nullifying the October 7 order of the National Green Tribunal on the same issue, the apex court had made it clear that “this order will override any order to the contrary by any authority.”

The court had, however, said that the passenger buses, vehicles carrying essential commodities, food articles and ambulances would be exempted from paying the environment compensation charge.

“The charge will be collected by the toll operators without any deduction and handed over to the Delhi government on every Friday. The Delhi government shall furnish accounts of the receipts and the expenditure incurred to Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control)) Authority and to this court each quarter,” the court had said.

Taking note of the Centre for Science and Environment study that about 23 per cent of the commercial vehicles and 40-60 per cent of the heavy trucks entering the city were not destined for Delhi, the court had said it was necessary to impose the charges, along with the MCD toll, to equalise the difference in cost in travelling through alternative routes.