They had sent New Year reminder to the government about their demands; will still approach the Bombay High Court for age limit of buses to be extended
Though schools reopened in the pandemic, there was only 20 per cent to 30 per cent attendance without commuting facilities for students. File pic/Satej Shinde
The COVID-hit school bus business has received relief from the state government on Wednesday, with a 100 per cent waiver on the motor vehicle tax for the period April 1,2020 to March 31, 2022.
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“The School Bus Owners' Association (SBOA) thanks the government of Maharashtra for giving us the big relief of tax exemption for the period of two years. We would like to thank our transport commissioner who supported us,” said Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners' Association (SBOA), Maharashtra.
Many school buses have been unused since the pandemic began
“But still schools are closed and no school bus will run till the next academic year that is from June 2022. So the tax exemption should have been till June 2022. Also we had requested for age limit of buses to be extended, as we have lost 2 years of life of buses. But it seems the government is of the view that the order for the same should come from the Bombay High Court. So we will move the HC for the same shortly,” Garg added. The life of school buses is limited to eight years in Mumbai and 15 years in other parts of the state.
School bus operators had sought a tax waiver from April 2020 to May 2022 to save the industry from financial crisis. Garg said they had also sent a New Year reminder to the government with fresh calculations of their losses, stating that schools which opened in October 2021 had just 20-30 per cent attendance, and a majority of their buses remain unused.
Anil Garg, School Bus Owners’ Association, Maharashtra
Many buses have been issued e-challans, Garg had pointed out, as they were parked in the same place since the lockdown from March 2020, due to various reasons, at times due to complaints by local residents. “These e-challans must also be withdrawn,” he had said.
Apr 1,2020 to Mar 31,2022
The period of motor vehicle tax waiver for school bus operators
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