[wilful]

Come April 1st new buyers will have to pay more for cars with a new slab system in place in Kerala.

For cars upto price Rs.5 Lakhs road tax is 6%
5L to 10 L - 8%
10L to 15L - 10%
above 15 L - 15%

Also putting a Times of India link which elaborates on the subject -
Cars to get expensive - Times Of India

(Mods - I am not sure if this is to be posted elsewhere - I did search. Please shift if required)

[FasterPhene]

Looks like Kerala decided to take a leaf out of Karnataka's road taxation rules. Still the tax rates in Kerala are way better than the Karnataka road tax rates. Reminds me; when they recently announced a proposal for a uniform road tax PAN India, I hope they were not suggesting to copy the Karnataka model.

[StarrySky]

I think this is going to be good for some cars and bad for some others in the same segment because, if I'm not mistaken, the current tax system is based on engine CC. Cars above 1500cc pay 8% and cars below that pay 6%.

So, for eg: currently the Chevy Cruze owner has to pay higher road tax than an Altis diesel owner, although both cars cost about the same. Now, both cars have the same tax rate. So it's going to affect the OTR of Altis diesel more than the Cruze. Same holds in the C-segment as well where the Vento and the Linea owners paid 8% and 6% tax respectively for their new cars. Of course, the Linea has no variant costing >10L - so it doesn't matter much for Linea. But, the Vento will now be even more expensive when compared to the Linea.

Looks like the govt has decided to pinch all car owners because a few are refusing to pay toll for newly built 4-lane roads.

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by wilful

Come April 1st new buyers will have to pay more for cars with a new slab system in place in Kerala.

For cars upto price Rs.5 Lakhs road tax is 6%
5L to 10 L - 8%
10L to 15L - 10%
above 15 L - 15%

Also putting a Times of India link which elaborates on the subject -
Cars to get expensive - Times Of India

(Mods - I am not sure if this is to be posted elsewhere - I did search. Please shift if required)

What was the previous taxation slabs?

[vinodv001]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

What was the previous taxation slabs?

If my memory is correct, it is based on Engine capacity.
less than 1500 cc - 6%
More than 1500 cc - 8%

[mail4ajo]

First, the taxation based on the engine capacity is adam's age system. Several high priced cars have a lower CC than their less priced counterparts.

With these higher taxes, hope they fix the roads in Kerala. Some of the main roads are in pathetic shape.

[figo_mba]

Now we can see 'BATA' style prices on cars soon.

FOr Example Price of the All new Venta 9,99,999
Beat - Rs. 4,99,999 etc etc

[hellmet]

Wow 6%! You were paying half of what we pay here at Hyderabad - 12.5% (or is it 14.5% now?! )

Is it just me or do I see a slew of tax increases across the nation in every state?

[2cents]

^^ True. The trend seems to be uniform across the states, barring a couple of important items in a couple of states (VAT on fuel in Goa!). Truly bad days ahead for the motoring world.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by figo_mba

Now we can see 'BATA' style prices on cars soon.

FOr Example Price of the All new Venta 9,99,999
Beat - Rs. 4,99,999 etc etc

Chances are pretty low. And that's because the ex showroom prices are NOT constant in all states. From what I remember it's ONLY Mitsubishi which has a ONE INDIA Price system. But what you said makes a lot of sense, a mere Rs. 1000/- can save cash in the range of 20,000/-! Atleast till now I have NOT seen companies taking effort to do this favor for customers, so I doubt that's going to happen in future as well.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

But what you said makes a lot of sense, a mere Rs. 1000/- can save cash in the range of 20,000/-! Atleast till now I have NOT seen companies taking effort to do this favor for customers, so I doubt that's going to happen in future as well.

It might force them to, if a direct competitor has a ~20K price advantage due to difference in taxation. They might lose 4-5K on the ex-showroom price, but might save 12-15K on discounts offered. It's better to have customer paying less to the govt than to have the customer paying less to you

[sgiitk]

After all KL is now Congress ruled, so why should they not follow the tax and squander route. The Central budget is also a harsh one - the taxes are 10x the give aways.

[lurker]

Originally Posted by 2cents

^^ True. The trend seems to be uniform across the states, barring a couple of important items in a couple of states (VAT on fuel in Goa!). Truly bad days ahead for the motoring world.

maybe a cut in petrol prices or some kind of rationalisation is due and states are taking advance measures for preventing severe drop in revenue.

[2cents]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

... Atleast till now I have NOT seen companies taking effort to do this favor for customers, so I doubt that's going to happen in future as well.

Originally Posted by StarrySky

.... It's better to have customer paying less to the govt than to have the customer paying less to you

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of all inventions, and these are troubled times. In fact, I always wondered why Car companies never resorted to these methods - sell just the bare bones car, and most other things fitted as accessories at the dealer (like bicycles). Alloys alone can bring down the cost by atleast 50k.

Originally Posted by lurker

maybe a cut in petrol prices or some kind of rationalisation is due and states are taking advance measures for preventing severe drop in revenue.

Fat chance mate! They have to give petrol free to compensate for the increase in tax elsewhere if they intend to

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by 2cents

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of all inventions, and these are troubled times. In fact, I always wondered why Car companies never resorted to these methods - sell just the bare bones car, and most other things fitted as accessories at the dealer (like bicycles). Alloys alone can bring down the cost by atleast 50k.

They do that even now. But, just for eg:, Fiat alloys cost ~9.5K per wheel. How many people opt for this? Most people who fit alloys on Fiat cars that came without them buy it from outside at about half the cost. So isn't it better for Fiat to add alloys to the car for maybe 35K extra take more "guaranteed" money from the customer?

I think optional extras make sense only if customers can source it only from the manufacturer. In the current scenario in India, even ABS/Airbags are really such optional extras.