Gram Panchayats — elected village bodies — have no power to levy a tax on motor vehicles, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has said. In an order passed on September 3, the court dismissed a petition on the issue, filed by Hargarh Gram Panchayat in Jabalpur district.
The ruling became available on Tuesday. All vehicles driven by motors fall within the definition of ‘motor vehicles’, and a Gram Panchayat does not have any power to impose tax on motor vehicles, said Justice Vishal Dhagat.
The Gram Panchayat of Hargarh, an industrial area, had challenged before the high court a letter sent by the state revenue department taking objection to the Panchayat collecting commercial tax from vehicles within its jurisdiction.
During the hearing, the state government opposed the petition’s maintainability. No resolution in accordance with law had been passed authorizing the sarpanch to file the petition as the said resolution did not have names and signatures of Panchayat members, the government lawyer said.
