Stating this at the end of 29th meeting of Transport Development Council (TDC), Union surface transport minister Rajnath Singh said that there was a consensus on the need to have a uniform composite tax. Earlier, addressing state transport ministers, the transport minister called for facilitating smooth inter-state transport operations, strict enforcement of laws against overloading to avoid damage to roads and standardisation of registration plates to prevent thefts.

Inaugurating the meeting, Singh said that while the Centre had agreed to withdraw the hike in various transport fees in a bid to end the nation-wide strike by transport operators last year his ministry felt there was need to increase the fees in view of the general price rise.

The one-day meeting was attended by transport ministers from states and Union territories except Arunachal Pradesh.

Singh said there was need for amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, Central Motor Vehicle Rules and the Carrier Act to help the road transport sector.Taking a serious note of the fact that some states were allowing overloading by charging some fine for each tonne of extra load, Singh said the practice yielded some quick profit for the truck owner at the cost of the government which had to spend huge amounts on the repair of roads.

The minister said that though there was a suggestion that two axle vehicles should not be granted national permit, it was decided that multiaxle vehicles should be given priority through incentives like concession in excise duty and other taxes.

He also suggested a hike in various fees payable by the transport sector including permit, registration and driving licence. "There is a need to increase the various fees keeping in view the general price rise. However, the views of state governments and transporters will be taken into consideration before taking a final decision on the issue."

After last year's transport strike against diesel price hike, the ministry has re-examined the issue and is of the view that there is a need to increase the various fees including composite tax, registration fee, licence fee and permit fee, he said.

Stating that there was great variation in the tax structure of different states on taxes relating to motor vehicles operating under national permit, Singh said, "In the present context of globalisation, it is necessary that there should be uniformity in these taxes throughout the country." In his address, the minister of state sought enforcement of Bharat stage two norms for reducing pollution and simplification of various procedures and rules related to Motor Vehicles Act.

There was also consensus during the meeting on the prevention of overloading of trucks as it violated safety norms and led to damage of roads and the government had to spend huge amounts to repair these.

On pollution, it was felt that the number of pollution checking centres should be increased and a 100 per cent central grant should be given to purchase of equipment.

The council agreed that there should be more testing centres and the certificate for plying of the vehicle should be given only after the critical items were found in order. This was necessary for ensuring safety. The ministers also agreed that the present system of producing photocopies of vehicle documents was being misused.