GST cut drives up vehicle registration by 100% in Hyd

“Over 90% of the tax revenue collected this festive season has come from car registrations. The revenue this year is up by Rs 92 crore compared to the same period last year,” said C Ramesh, joint transport commissioner (Hyderabad).

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It’s the city’s automobile dealers who are laughing their way to the bank this festival season. With the recent reduction in GST rates – from 28% to 18% – making certain category of two and four-wheelers cheaper, Hyderabad has seen a massive rise in vehicle sales in the last few weeks.Data available with TOI shows that vehicle registrations in the city shot up by a stupendous 100% since the GST cut, with the numbers touching 68,000 (two and four-wheelers combined) between Sept 22 and Oct 17. While two-wheelers in the ₹1 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh range dominated the sales charts, cars priced up to ₹20 lakh saw the highest demand among four-wheelers, said dealers.Typically, Hyderabad adds around 30,000 to 35,000 personal vehicles every month.

In Sept, the Centre revised its GST rates bringing in a 10% cut on two-wheelers (up to 350cc) and small cars (up to 1,500cc).

The spike in registrations has left the the Regional Transport Authority’s (RTA) coffers ringing. The dept collected ₹388 crore in revenue during this period through registration fees, road tax, and other charges on bikes and cars. And given the rapidly growing sales numbers, officials expect the overall monthly revenue to cross ₹400 crore to ₹450 crore by the end of Oct.

“Over 90% of the tax revenue collected this festive season has come from car registrations. The revenue this year is up by ₹92 crore compared to the same period last year,” said C Ramesh, joint transport commissioner (Hyderabad).Dealers said the tax relief, coupled with festive offers from manufacturers and financiers, has fuelled buying sentiment, especially among middle-class consumers.”Many customers who were postponing their purchase took advantage of the GST cut and the festival discounts,” said a two-wheeler automobile dealer from Kukatpally.