Telangana introduces vehicle scrappage policy

Telangana has become the latest state in India to announce a vehicle scrappage policy, called the Voluntary Vehicle Fleet Modernization Policy (VVMP). This initiative aims to phase out 'end-of-life vehicles', and aligns with recent amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988.

This policy will allow owners who scrap their transport vehicles older than eight years and non-transport vehicles older than 15 years to be eligible for tax concessions when purchasing new vehicles of the same category. The Telangana government has also waived outstanding Green Tax and penalties on quarterly taxes for these vehicles, provided they are scrapped within two years of the policy’s notification.

Under this policy, buyers of new two-wheelers with an ex-showroom price of up to Rs 5 lakh will get tax rebates of up to Rs 5,000. Similarly, four-wheeler buyers can enjoy tax rebates of up to Rs 50,000, depending on the ex-showroom price of the new vehicle.

Additionally, the policy has mandated that state-owned vehicles older than 15 years must be scrapped through e-auctions.

What’s more, the state has also confirmed the setting up of Registered Vehicle scrapping facilities (RVSF) at multiple locations. There will be around 37 automated testing stations across the state, which will phase out manual testing at Regional testing offices. The state has allocated Rs 296 crore for these two initiatives.