Lorry owners reject govt. proposal to slash vehicle fitness fee by up to 50 per cent

Andhra Pradesh Lorry Owners Association members rejected the State government’s proposal to slash the vehicle fitness test fee by up to 50 per cent.

Department of Transport and Roads and Buildings Special Chief Secretary M.T. Krishna Babu, Transport Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha and Joint Transport Commissioner Shivaram Prasad held a meeting with the association members on Tuesday.

They deliberated at length the GSR 850(E) notification issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on November 11, 2025, amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. This notification follows draft rules published on August 27, 2025 (GSR 600 E), to amend regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, based on public feedback.

The association members said vehicles older than 20 years were mainly used for self-employment and that currently only about 10-12 per cent of such vehicles were operating on the roads. They explained that older vehicles were naturally being scrapped due to the non-availability of spare parts. In this context, they expressed concern that imposing high taxes would severely impact small vehicle owners and requested that the rates be limited to a maximum of 25 per cent, to which the government responded positively.

They also urged that counter-signature permits between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana be issued immediately. Mr. Krishna Babu directed officials to take prompt action on this matter. A decision was also taken to appoint a special officer to resolve issues related to the Vahan software.

The meeting was attended by State general secretary of the Lorry Owners’ Association Y.V. Eswara Rao, treasurer Nadella Krishna, Krishna District Lorry Owners Association president Nagamothu Raja, general secretary A.V.V. Satyanarayana, secretary Ravi Sharath Babu, and others.