Karnataka to hike registration fee for commercial vehicles from May 1: Report
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Bengaluru: Starting May 1, registration fee for commercial vehicles priced within Rs 10 lakh and for those used in the construction sector will be increased as the state government is implementing the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Taxation (Amendment) Act, despite opposition from commercial vehicle operators.
The lifetime tax for cabs that cost less than Rs 10 lakh will be 5 percent of the cost of the vehicle, as reported by The New Indian Express on Wednesday.
The report noted that, until now, lifetime taxes were not levied in a lump sum on commercial vehicles (taxis) costing less than Rs 10 lakh; instead, taxes were collected quarterly at a rate of Rs 100 per seat for a four-seater vehicle.
“So every commercial vehicle priced within Rs 10 lakh annually paid tax of around Rs 1,800, including the cess. But now, the slabs have been revised and we have to pay lifetime tax at one go,” TNIE quoted K. Radhakrishna Holla, president, Karnataka State Travel Operators’ Association, as saying.
He added that buyers of vehicles priced within Rs 10 lakh, which include most commercial vehicles, will now have to pay approximately Rs 50,000 as lifetime tax upfront at the time of registration.
As per the revised slabs, those purchasing vehicles in the Rs 10–15 lakh range will be required to pay 9 percent of the vehicle’s cost as lifetime tax. Additionally, buyers of vehicles priced at Rs 15 lakh and above will now be required to pay 15 percent of the vehicle’s cost as lifetime tax.
Electric vehicles (EVs) priced above Rs 25 lakh were exempted from road tax. But now, it will now attract a 10 percent tax on the vehicle’s cost.
However, Radhakrishna Holla warned that taxing high-end EVs could further slow the state’s already lagging adoption of electric vehicles. “At this juncture, the government should not be levying taxes on e-vehicles. It will discourage people from operating commercial e-cars,” he said.
Vehicles used in the construction sector, as well as those equipped with air compressors and generators, will attract a lifetime tax of 8 percent of the vehicle’s cost, added the report.
The state government has set a revenue target of Rs 15,000 crore for the Transport Department in the 2025–26 fiscal year, with the revised taxation expected to boost collections.
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Israeli airstrikes kill 23 in Gaza as outcry over aid blockade grows
Deir al-Balah, May 10 (AP): Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday killed at least 23 Palestinians in Gaza, including three children and their parents whose tent was bombed in Gaza City, health officials said.
The bombardment continued as international warnings grow over Israeli plans to control aid distribution in Gaza as Israel's blockade on the territory of over 2 million people is in its third month.
The UN and aid groups have rejected Israel's aid distribution moves, including a plan from a group of American security contractors, ex-military officers and humanitarian aid officials calling itself the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Among the 23 bodies brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours were those of the family of five whose tent was struck in Gaza City's Sabra district, Gaza's Health Ministry said.
Another Israeli strike late Friday hit a warehouse belonging to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, in the northern area of Jabaliya. Four people were killed, according to the Indonesian Hospital, where bodies were taken.
AP video showed fires burning in the shattered building. The warehouse was empty after being hit and raided multiple times during Israeli ground offensives against Hamas fighters over the past year, said residents including Hamza Mohamed.
Israel's military said nine soldiers were lightly wounded Friday night by an explosive device while searching Gaza City's Shijaiyah neighborhood. It said they were evacuated to a hospital in Israel.
Israel resumed its bombardment in Gaza on March 18, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. Ground troops have seized more than half the territory and have been conducting raids and searching parts of northern Gaza and the southernmost city of Rafah. Large parts of both areas have been flattened by months of Israeli operations.
Under Israel's blockade, charity kitchens are virtually the only source of food left in Gaza, but dozens have shut down in recent days as food supplies run out. Aid groups say more closures are imminent. Israel has said the blockade is meant to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages and disarm. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.
Israel accuses Hamas and other fighter groups of siphoning off aid in Gaza, though it hasn't presented evidence for its claims. The U.N. denies significant diversion takes place, saying it monitors distribution.
The 19-month-old war in Gaza is the most devastating ever fought between Israel and Hamas. It has killed more than 52,800 people there, more than half of them women and children, and wounded more than 119,000, according to the Health Ministry. The ministry's count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. Israel says it has killed thousands of Hamas members, without giving evidence.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel in which Hamas group killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped over 250 others. Hamas still holds about 59 hostages, with around a third believed to still be alive.
Hamas released a video Saturday showing hostages Elkana Bohbot and Yosef-Haim Ohana, who appeared under duress. They were abducted during the Oct. 7 attack from a music festival where over 300 people were killed. Hamas released a video of them a month and half ago and has released several videos of Bohbot alone since then.
