The government’s move to recover the road tax amount waived off on the Mercedes Benz car registered under Domnic and Joan Trust in 2014 smacks of vengeance and is a conscious effort to build up pressure against the pastor who is out on bail in a case of “forced conversions”.
It is a disgrace that the transport department is stooping to such levels trying to recover road tax which is waived off eight years ago by questioning the charitable credentials of the Trust when it is the very same department that endorsed it in 2014 via a notification. The Motor Vehicle Tax Rules under Rule 22 (1) provide for an exemption of tax for charitable, cultural or welfare institutions.
Back in 2016, the Comptroller Auditor General's report tabled in the Legislative Assembly had pointed out that social institutions have used tax exemptions to buy luxury cars. The report stated the government treasury suffered a loss of Rs 9.87 lakh in road tax exemption granted to two institutions -- Domnic and Joan Ministries and Padmanabh Shishya Sampradaya Trust. The report also stated that while granting tax relief to the two institutions, the government failed to release the list of those eligible and the categories of vehicles permissible under the rules.
The very fact that the transport department exercised its discretion and granted exemption under the "charitable purpose” category for luxury cars (Mercedes Benz) is ludicrous. Let’s not forget that hefty sums were paid to get special registration numbers (Domnic and Joan Trust paid Rs 30000 to avail a special registration number and Padmanabh Shishya Sampradaya Trust Rs 10,000). Why was the CAG report not taken cognizance of, and acted upon? This issue and the related accounts should have been well settled in 2016 itself when a red flag was raised.
At this stage, recovery of the tax waiver amount on the ground that the Trust is no longer engaged in charitable activities is absurd and does not stand the test of law or logic. On the contrary, it exposes the motive of arm-twisting the pastor. The obvious question that will be asked is why only target this Trust, and why not question Padmanabh Shishya Sampradaya Trust and the several others who have availed of the tax benefit? Has the transport department done a reality check on all, or is it just targetting Domnic and Joan Trust to harass them?
The transport department must first hold itself responsible for being a facilitator in this road tax exemption which is indeed questionable. The government is clearly in the wrong, and by letting loose its machinery on the pastor, it is making known its frustration. Desperate time calls for desperate measure, so goes the popular adage, and the next move could be tabling the anti-conversion bill when the House assembles for the Legislative session in July.
