Karnataka to hike registration fee for commercial vehicles from May 1: Report
_vb_09.jpeg)
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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Protest held outside Karachi Bakery in Hyderabad demanding name change
Hyderabad, May 11 (PTI): A group of people held a protest in front of a Karachi Bakery outlet here, demanding that the name be changed, police said on Sunday.
Around 10-15 members, holding the tricolour and wearing saffron scarves, gathered in front of the Karachi Bakery store at Shamshabad on Saturday afternoon and raised "anti-Pakistan slogans".
The protesters then allegedly tried to damage the outlet's nameboard by hitting it with sticks. They were subsequently dispersed by the police.
In a video circulated on social media on Sunday, the nameboard was seen partially covered with a cloth.
"The protest was held by 10-15 people on Saturday afternoon, demanding that Karachi Bakery change its name," a police official at the RGI Airport police station said.
A complaint was lodged against the protesters, accusing them of obstructing customers by staging the protest in front of the outlet, he added.
The promoters of the city-based bakery chain had earlier clarified that they are a "100 per cent Indian brand", after certain groups demanded a name change, citing its association with a city in Pakistan.
A protest was also held last week in Visakhapatnam, with similar demands to change Karachi Bakery’s name amid conflicts between India and the neighbouring country.
Police personnel were deployed near one of the bakery’s branches in Hyderabad on May 7 as a preventive measure, after a leader of a right-wing organisation posted a video on social media demanding the name be changed, or else they would do it themselves.
Karachi Bakery promoters Rajesh Ramnani and Harish Ramnani said the brand was established in Hyderabad in 1953 by their grandfather Khanchand Ramnani, who migrated to India from Pakistan during partition.
They also appealed to Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the DGP, and the police to help them retain Karachi Bakery’s brand identity and prevent any forced name change.
Earlier, the tricolour was also displayed above the nameboards of their outlets in the city.
Men calling themselves nationalists vandalising an Indian owned Karachi bakery in Hyderabad.
— Anusha Ravi Sood (@anusharavi10) May 11, 2025
It's a 6-decade old Indian brand founded by founded by Khanchand Ramnani.
Poor Karachi bakery that has nothing to do with Pakistan becomes the victim of idiocy every single time. pic.twitter.com/XDkmtMnkgp
