Steep Vehicle Rates: Taxes, Poor Governance & Burden On Consumer

Struggles of Indian Car Owner

Consumers battle a lot of stress beginning from the moment they decide or can afford to buy a car and ironically all Indian car owners suffer from corruption not only in the purchase of their cars but also on the roads where traffic nightmares are an everyday experience. The traffic police insist on issuing fines for minor offenses, which are followed by attempts to demand bribes, whereas it is easier to pay the fine under the table than to challenge higher costs. This defeats the whole idea of traffic laws whereby the police force is used to generate income for the individuals in authority.

A perception remains ambiguous regarding rules concerning EV charging stations, emissions checks, and diesel vehicle bans, which have been breached by traffic cops. Drivers of cars are constantly harassed and fined for moving or stationary infractions which most of the time are nonexistent or which they fail to comprehend, and above all, the stress involved in owning a car.

Poor Road Infrastructure

It is so astonishing to realize this despite the high taxes from consumers fetching the government a handsome amount in the form of road tax, there is little in terms of quality infrastructure. The recurrent problem of potholes and drills, bad roads, or lack of maintenance creates several accidents and therefore, a lot of expenditure in repair works.

An inadequate number of flyovers, haphazard planning, and design of junctions lead to traffic snarls that extend for as many as four hours thus consuming both fuel and time. Considering the lofty proclamations of constructing globally competent physical facilities, much information about road funds is unknown.

It is even worse in the construction of road contracts; corruption in this area leads to the use of substandard materials, and contracts being done half-way or even not at all.

Charging Infrastructure For EVs: A Joke

While the government has strongly promoted the use of electric vehicles to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, there is a major drawback lack of enough charging points. This is because EV owners still grapple with believable charging points and this reduces the practicality of owning EVs, especially in Tier two cities. This is because the lack of appropriate infrastructure gives private players a chance to act and charge very high fees.

Diesel Ban: A Policy Mess

Diesel vehicle policies have been poorly developed, erratic, and incongruent and have elicited stress on the consumers from the government. Sudden bans such as the 10-year-old diesel vehicle ban in Delhi NCR put pressure on car owners with little time to adjust their lifestyles and tend to scrap working vehicles. Efficient and durable diesel vehicles are also immobile because of general prohibitions.

Today diesel cars are vilified for causing harm to the environment, but still, there are no serious efforts made to control industrial pollution or to introduce better quality fuels.

The Tax Game

There are a plethora of taxes including GST, Road Tax, Cess, and Registration Charges that Indians have to pay while buying a car. Extra taxes and fees can easily take the cost of a car to be approx 40-50% higher than its ex-showroom price. Yet car buyers do not get improvements in infrastructure, public services, or enforcement—only taxes. This brings confusion and financial unpredictability among consumers hence the need for a unified structure in the country.

Conclusion

India’s automotive world remains burdened with bad governance, high taxes, and corruption. On the one hand, the government launches initiatives such as “Make in India” and encourages the use of EVs, but for the customers, it is a different story. Corruption in traffic police, poor infrastructure and misplaced sentiments like banning diesel cars only worsen the cost – emotional as well – of car ownership. For the government to support its citizens and the automotive industry in the true sense, the government has to be more transparent, accountable, and selective while framing policies. In the meantime, car ownership will be out of reach for most people, and the middle class will go on suffering the cons of a corrupt system.

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