Vehicle Tax Exemption Allowable on Car Purchased by Visually Challenged Person: Madras HC [Read Order]

The Madras High Court recently held that Vehicle Tax Exemption is allowable on cars purchased by visually challenged persons.

Carunia Seelavathi, the petitioner, who is visually handicapped and who holds a unique disability identity card showing that she is a person with 100% physical impairment, has planned to purchase a car for her own use. She is dependent on a third person for her travels.

Considering the fact that she is a lady and visually challenged, travelling in the taxies and autos in the present scenario is a scary choice for the petitioner. She tried to take advantage of the Government Order `which grants exemptions from payment of tax leviable under the Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1974 for the motor vehicles designed or adapted for the use of disabled persons.

Her request has been rejected by the authorities by stating that the vehicle of the petitioner would not undergo any change in its form and it cannot be considered as a adapted vehicle, which is the basis of the exemption.

The petitioner is a person suffering from a disability has not been denied by the respondents. In the order of the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) New Delhi, the Commissioner was dealing with cases of various kinds of disabilities, like locomotory, hearing impairment, visually handicapped etc.

The Commission has held that a person suffering from complete blindness can never drive the vehicle by himself/herself, which is also the case of hearing impairment. The Commission went on to hold that the person who is visually challenged also belongs to the PwD category (Person with Disability) and the Commission had recommended that the Department of Heavy Industries, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises and Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Union of India should make amendments to their rules to give concession with reference to GST, Road Tax, Toll Tax etc to all these persons.

Justice PT Asha of the Madurai bench took note of the recommendations that today visually challenged persons are having more opportunities for employment even in the Government sector and their commuting to the place of work becomes challenging, the exemption has to be granted to the petitioner and accordingly, the Writ Petitions are allowed.

“The authority concerned shall ensure that necessary orders exempting the petitioner from the motor vehicle’s tax as well as the GST are passed within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a undertaking letter by the petitioner.”, the Court held.

To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE

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