Sikkim Road Tax

Road taxes are taxes that are levied on vehicles before it is used in public on the road. It is a state level tax, imposed by the state governments at an individual level leading to a varying percentage of taxes in several states. This tax becomes mandatory for an individual to pay while purchasing the vehicle. In this article, let us see in detail about Sikkim Road Tax.

Purpose of Road Taxes

The country's roads are not maintained by the Central Government. About 70% to 80% of the roads in the states are constructed by the State Government. Therefore, the State Government has to cover all the cost that is required to construct these roads. This has led to levying road tax in various states of the country.

Calculation of Road Tax in Sikkim

Road tax levied in the State of Sikkim is the lowest among all Indian states. The state's road taxes come under the provisions of the Sikkim Motor Vehicles Taxation Act of 1982. The act was further revised by the Sikkim Legislative Assembly in the year 2002. The act is applicable to all vehicles inside the state, be it vehicles that are state registered or out of state registration. Based on the age, seating capacity and weight of the vehicle, the taxes are calculated accordingly.

Restitution of the Tax Paid

If a person has used a vehicle less than 15 years and the owner decides to scrap or discard it, the registration of the vehicles has to be cancelled at the Regional Transport Office where the vehicle was initially registered. In the case of transferring the registration of a vehicle from one place to another, then the refund can be claimed from the RTO where the vehicles were registered and not in the RTO where the vehicle has been subsequently transferred.

Registration of Vehicles

Every vehicle in Sikkim has to be duly registered with the concerned registering authority where the owner of the vehicle normally resides or the place where the vehicles are kept.

Required Documents

The following are the documents that are required for registering a vehicle.

Sale Certificate
Insurance Certificate
Address Proof
Customs clearance certificate if it is an imported vehicle
Income Tax Clearance Certificate
Prescribed fee
Other documents like entry tax, octroi, etc

Cancelling of Registration

Given below are the steps required for cancelling the registration. Step 1: Removal of the Engine or Chassis Number The engine or the Chassis number will be removed from the vehicle and then submitted at the RTO. Step 2: Removal of the Number Plate The number plate should be submitted after removing it from the vehicle. Step 3: Claiming Refund On successful completion of these steps, the taxpayer can claim the refund after submitting the required documents.

Change of Address

If an owner changes his/ her residence or place of business, he/ she has to inform the R.A. of the new address within 30 days. In the event of a temporary move to another state and of the stay exceeds one year, a new registration number has to be obtained from the new R.A.

Temporary Registration

Temporary Registrations are granted for a period of one month for the purpose of bodybuilding where only a chassis will be provided by the manufacturer. If the vehicle is detained further in the workshop for completion, further extensions would be granted by the R.A. as required.

Transfer of Ownership

When the ownership of the vehicle changes, the original owner has to inform the R.A. with whom the vehicles have been registered within 14 days.
If the new owner resides or has a place of business in the jurisdiction of any other R.A., the concerned R.A. should also be informed by the transferor.
If the R.A., in whose jurisdiction the vehicle is transferred in another state, then the transferor has to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from his R.A. and forward it to the RTO/ RA in whose jurisdiction the new owner stays.
The new owner has to inform his RTO/ R.A. within 30 days and has to send the registration certificate for endorsement of ownership his name. The registration certificate

Documents Required

Here are the documents required while transferring the ownership of the vehicle.

No Objection Certificate
Certificate of Registration
Insurance Certificate
Evidence of payment of all taxes up-to-date

Payment of Road Tax

Payment of Road Taxes in Sikkim can be done at the regional transport offices where the vehicle is registered using cash or cheque. A taxpayer can also pay it online by logging in to the Commercial Taxes Division website of the Sikkim Government and can make the payment.

Tax Rates for Vehicles

The tax rates for two-wheeled vehicles that are not used for transportation or for hiring is given below.

Type of Vehicle	Applicable tax rates
Engine capacity that is below 80 cc	100
Engine capacity that is between 80 to 170 cc	200
Engine capacity that is between 170 to 250 cc	300
Engine capacity above 250 cc	Engine capacity above 250 cc

The tax rates for two-wheeled vehicles that are used for ferrying passengers or for hiring is given below.

Type of Vehicle	Applicable tax rates
Engine capacity that is below 900 cc	1000
Engine capacity that is between 900 to 1490 cc	1200
Engine capacity that is between 1490 to 2000 cc	2500
Engine capacity that is above 2000 cc	3000

Omnibuses that have been registered as a non-transport vehicle, Rs. 1750 has to be paid as a tax if the seating capacity is less than 10 people or more than 10 people. Omnibuses that are registered for educational institutes, Rs. 1750 has to be paid if the seating capacity is less than 10 people and Rs. 1750 plus Rs. 188 for every additional seat exceeding the seating capacity of 10 people. The tax rates for transport vehicles are given below.

Type of Vehicle	Applicable tax rates
Maxi cab for every seat based on seating capacity on the registration certificate	230
Other Vehicle for every seat based on seating capacity on the registration certificate	125
Transport Vehicles that are not above 500 Kg weight	871
Transport Vehicles that are between 500 to 2000 Kg and for every additional 250 Kg above 500 Kg	871 plus 99 for every additional 250 Kg
Transport Vehicles that are between 2000 to 4000 Kg and for every additional 250 Kg above 500 Kg	1465 plus 124 for every additional 250 Kg
Transport Vehicles that are between 4000 to 8000 Kg and for every additional 250 Kg above 500 Kg	2451 plus 73 for every additional 250 Kg
Exceeding 8000 and for every additional 250 Kg above 8000 Kg	3241 plus 99 for every additional 250 Kg