To support the private transport operators amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved 100 percent exemption from the Motor Vehicle Tax for the state stage carriage buses and buses of educational institutions, school or college buses till December 31, 2020, effective from March 23.
The Cabinet gave post-facto approval to the notification issued in June to exempt these vehicles from MV tax till May 19, 2020, and also okayed notification for further extension from May 20 to December 31, 2020.
At the same time, the Cabinet approved extension of the Amnesty scheme, deferring payment of arrears of taxes, without interest and penalty, to March 31, 2021.
“The Cabinet also ex-post facto approved the notification dated June 1, 2020, reducing Motor Vehicle Tax of Stage Carriage Buses (Ordinary Buses) from Rs 2.80 to Rs 2.69 (per kilometre, per vehicle, per day). It further gave ex-post facto approval to another notification dated June 2, 2020, by which Motor Vehicle Tax exemption was given to educational institutions, schools, college buses, mini buses, maxi cab and three wheelers from March 23, 2020 to May 19, 2020,” said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office.
The exemption given to the above stage carriage buses and buses of educational institutions, schools or colleges is expected to cost the state exchequer about Rs 66.05 crore.
Notably, during a meeting with the Chief Minister on October 30, the private bus operators including stage carriage operators, mini bus and school bus operators had sought extension of Amnesty Scheme issued on June 1, 2020, as they could not avail the benefit due to COVID-19. Under the Amnesty Scheme, the transporters were liable to pay tax on their vehicles from June 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, without any interest and penalty.
The transporters had also apprised the Chief Minister that fewer people are travelling nowadays due to the pandemic which led to huge financial losses as their buses were not plying on the roads to full capacity.
Hence, it was decided in the meeting to grant 100 percent tax exemption to all types of stage carriage buses and educational institutions (Schools and Colleges) buses from May 20, 2020 to December 31, 2020.
PUNJAB TO SET UP INNOVATION MISSION AND FUND
To give further impetus to the start-up ecosystem in Punjab, the State Cabinet has cleared the decks for the establishment of Punjab Innovation Mission and Punjab Innovation Fund.
To achieve the objective of Punjab Innovative Mission, a Punjab Innovation Fund of Rs 150 crore is proposed to be set up to invest in early-stage start-ups in Punjab. The Government’s participation in the Fund will be a maximum of 10 percent of the Corpus — that is Rs 15 crore.
The fund shall be managed by an Asset Management Company, comprising Investors of global repute, and the first chairperson of the Mission and the Fund would be Clix Capital chairman and Genpact founder Pramod Bhasin.
Bhasin told the virtual Cabinet meeting that he will raise the remaining Rs 135 crore investment amount from Punjabi businesses and investors, the Diaspora as well as public and private financial institutions.
Punjab Innovation Mission would go a long way in developing a vibrant innovative ecosystem for entrepreneurship by leveraging capital, policy, and technology through collaboration with investors, industry, government, academia, and start-ups and by facilitating collaboration amongst the various incubators and accelerators in Punjab, the spokesperson said.
The government would support the operation of the Punjab Innovation Mission and Punjab Innovation Fund by providing for the operational expenditure for the first three years, amounting to Rs 10 crore.
The Mission would be set up at Kalkat Bhawan of Mandi Board at Mohali, and its activities would be supported by the Start-up Cell in the Industries and Commerce Department, Invest Punjab and Punjab State Council for Science and Technology.
Pertinently, the establishment of ‘Punjab Innovation Mission and Punjab Innovation Fund’ was one of the key recommendations of the Group of Experts (GoE), constituted by the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, under the chairmanship of Planning Commission of India’s former deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia to develop a medium-term and long-term post-COVID economic strategy for Punjab with an aim to revitalizing Punjab’s economy through building a strong start-up ecosystem, by supplementing the current government efforts with more private sector led initiatives.