The Supreme Court has issued an interim order forbidding local levels from charging taxes on the national highway. With it, local governments won’t have the authority to charge vehicles for using national, auxiliary, or postal highways.
The order was issued by a joint bench of Justices Mahesh Sharma Poudel and Bal Krishna Dhakal. On Bhadra 22, Rajendra Bikram Baniya, chairman of the Federation of Nepal Truck Transport Entrepreneurs, filed a writ petition, demanding a halt to the illegal collection of road tax from vehicles by local authorities. Baniya sought an interim order for the stoppage of road fee collection on vehicles by the local levels.
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The court issued its interim order after basing the decision on the fact that the contract agreement made with the Jeetpur-Simara Sub-Metropolitan City on Asar 30, 2082 stipulated that road use fees should not be collected from vehicles such as ambulances, hearses, and fire engines. It also stipulated that road fees shouldn’t be collected at the gates on routes including the Tribhuvan Highway, the Postal Highway, and the Mahendra Highway.
Chairman Baniya has argued that the collection of taxes by placing gates and tables on highways increased the financial burden on transport entrepreneurs and affected consumers. He also emphasized that the ruling of the court must be fully complied with.