The National Highway Authority (NHA) has issued a notification on increase in toll tax.
According to the notification, toll tax for cars has been increased from Rs 30 to Rs 40, for wagons from Rs 50 to Rs 70, and for buses from Rs 100 to Rs 130.
The toll tax for articulated trucks has been increased from Rs 250 to Rs 350, an increase of Rs 100.
The toll tax on the Lahore to Abdul Hakeem Motorway (M3) has been increased to Rs 500 for cars, Rs 750 for wagons, and Rs 2,500 for trucks.
On the Faisalabad to Multan Motorway (M4), the toll tax for cars has been increased to Rs 650, for wagons to Rs 1,000, and for trucks to Rs 3,200.
The toll tax on the M5 motorway has been fixed at Rs 900 for cars, Rs 1,300 for wagons, and Rs 4,500 for trucks.
A French road safety association said Monday it had launched a campaign urging men to drive like women, aiming to cut traffic deaths while debunking the sexist stereotype that men are better behind the wheel.
“Drive Like A Woman”, runs the slogan on the ads, seen mostly in metro stations and posted online, from the association Victims and Citizens.
“A look at the data tells you that there’s no truth” to the stereotype that men are better drivers, the association said in a statement.
Some 84 percent of deadly road accidents were caused by men, it said, citing a governmental road safety report.
Victims and Citizens, which assists people injured in traffic accidents and runs awareness campaigns, said it hoped to prompt a change in the “mentality of men and therefore in their behaviour”.
According to the government report, 93 percent of drivers causing an accident under the influence of alcohol were men.
“Driving like a woman just means one thing, staying alive,” the ad campaign said.
Close to 3,200 people died in road accidents in France last year, with early data for this year pointing to a possible increase in 2024.
In Peshawar, the City Traffic Police fined 297,913 people for breaking various traffic rules so far this year, and they have collected roughly Rs700,000 in fines from them.
According to information provided on Sunday by City Traffic Police officers, 80,341 motorcycle riders received fines for not wearing helmets, 29,945 people for parking in no parking areas, 32,298 people for breaking lane discipline, 12,222 people for breaking traffic signals, and 9,934 drivers for breaking one-way streets.
Furthermore, 7,888 drivers received fines for driving a vehicle without a valid license, 1,131 for driving without a permit, 6,327 for using tinted glasses, 814 for using a cell phone while driving, and 1,080 for underage driving.
In addition to 4,379 shop owners for encroachments, the traffic police also fined 4,094 drivers for overloading, 271 for riding one-wheeled on bikes, 1,296 for not using seatbelts, and 6,839 for refusing to show a driving license when asked by the police.
The City Traffic Police received 2,457 calls on its helpline about various issues during the first half of the year 2022. Out of them, 2,289 complaints were settled, while 168 calls pertained to various traffic system reform proposals.
A resident of Lahore was fined for a traffic violation involving his motorcycle that had been stolen for atleast eight years.
The victim, Imran received an e-challan and discovered that his long-stolen bike was being used by police officers in the Sabzazar neighbourhood.
The individual filed a complaint with the Chief Civilian Personnel Officer (CCPO), requesting that his bike be returned to him from the cops who were using it.
In other news, the rate of street crimes in the provincial capital appears to have spiralled out of control, considering a report released in March.
As per police statistics, more than 300 incidences of robbery and theft were reported in the city over the last two days of February, while the month of March began with nearly 350 incidents in the provincial capital.
People lost millions of rupees in cash, gold jewellery, automobiles, and motorcycles in the first two months of 2022.
According to data, 209 robberies resulted in loot worth more than Rs10 million, with 59 incidences of motorcycle theft reported at the time.
E-challans declared illegal by LHC
E-challan is seen as an effective solution to reduce traffic violations and promote safe transportation, however, the system was recently pronounced “illegal” by the Lahore High Court (LHC).
On Wednesday, the LHC observed that the electronic challan (e-ticket) system was implemented without sufficient planning and instructed the authorities to address the matter. During the hearing, Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh asked the Punjab chief secretary to notify the chief minister of the lapse, who will take prompt action to correct the problem.
The judge made the remarks after hearing a plea from a transporter, who told the court that he was unaware of roughly 55 e-challans filed against him.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) suggested the federal government elevate fuel prices by up to Rs83.5 per liter for petrol and Rs119 for diesel.
A summary to the petroleum division was presented by OGRA for the huge increase in petroleum rates to come into effect on April 16 in Pakistan.
The proposed raise was calculated using a 70 per cent GST rate plus a Rs30 per liter levy. It is worth noting that the current duty on fuel and diesel is Rs30 per liter, plus 17 per cent GST.
On the basis of complete levy and taxes, the body has recommended raising petrol prices by Rs83.5 per liter, while diesel prices should be raised by Rs119 per liter.
According to reports, the OGRA proposed raising the petrol price to Rs21.53 per liter in line with the current tax rate, Rs51.3 for diesel, and Rs77.56 for kerosine oil on the grounds of full tax and levy.
Concerning other oil products, a full tax rate and levy hike of Rs77.31 was suggested for light diesel, Rs36.5 for kerosine oil, and Rs38.89 for light diesel. According to sources, the finance ministry would make the final decision on the OGRA summary after briefing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Ghandhara Nissan Limited (GNL) is officially launching the Chery Tiggo 8 Pro SUV in Pakistan within a week. The company has been teasing the SUV for almost a year now. Finally, it seems like the long-delayed SUV will be seen on Pakistani roads in the coming months.
As per a report, GNL may start bookings for Tiggo 8 Pro as soon as 26 March 2022. The company may only debut the vehicle in a digital event for now, as its official launch event is expected after Ramadan.
The automaker has not disclosed any in-depth details regarding the price of the upcoming SUV, however, it is expected to be priced between Rs. 6 million to Rs. 7 million.
Chery Tiggo 8 Pro is a 7-seater, Chinese crossover SUV that will compete with Kia Sorento as well as the Changan Oshan X7. It will have a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine which produces 195 horsepower with 290 Newton-meters of torque.
It can be a huge success in the Pakistani market if it gets a price tag of below Rs. 6.3 million, considering the hefty price tags on sedans in the Pakistani auto market.
The Sindh Excise and Taxation Department has issued a notification on Friday regarding the increase in the tax on vehicles with higher engine capacity.
According to the notification, the tax on cars over 1,000cc has been increased to Rs100,000 from the existing Rs50,000. People who buy vehicles ranging between 1,001cc to 2,000cc will have to pay Rs200,000 tax compared to the existing Rs100,000 while those of 2,001cc and above will pay Rs400,000 in taxes.
Some of the revised car prices, as per ARY News, are:
Suzuki Alto VX price has been increased by Rs 32,000. Now it costs around 13 lac.
Suzuki Alto VXL price has been increased by Rs 43,000. The current price stands around Rs17 lac.
Suzuki Cultus VXR price has been increased by Rs126,000. The vehicle now costs about Rs20 lac.
Suzuki Cultus VXL price has been increased by Rs139,000. The price has gone around Rs2,244,000 (22 lac, 40 thousand).
Corolla Altis Grande X CVT 1.8 B price has been increased by Rs100,000. The new price is Rs4.2 million.
The manual version of Corolla Altis X 1.6 price has been increased by Rs81,000. Its new price is Rs3.38 million.
The price of Fortuner 2.7 G has been increased by Rs390,000. The SUV is now available at Rs8.56 million.
The price of Fortuner Legender Diesel saw the highest increase of Rs493,000 (4 lac and 93 thousand). This vehicle will now cost around Rs10.84 million.
The price of the Hyundai Elantra has seen an increase of Rs4lac. The vehicle now costs around Rs44 lac.
Apart from cars, iPhones from abroad are now being subjected to 17% sales tax instead of a fixed sales tax.
The Punjab Chief Minister’s (CM) office has denied giving out the information about the vehicles under the use of CM Usman Buzdar, claiming it ‘legitimate privacy’.
Under the transparency law, such information cannot be shared, the office said in a reply to a query submitted by a lawyer.
Abdullah Malik, a lawyer, had sent the query to the CM office earlier this year invoking the rights to the citizens under the law.
The office took nine months to answer him and refused to share copies of the logbooks (containing details of the official vehicles’ use). Section 13 (i)(b) of Punjab Transparency & Right to Information Act 2013 reads, “A public information officer may refuse an application for access to information where disclosure of the information shall or is likely to cause harm to a legitimate privacy interest unless the person concerned has consented to disclosure of the information.”
According to Dawn, Advocate Usama Khawar Ghumman revealed that Buzdar was using vehicles that were funded by taxes. Moreover, he said the logbooks could reveal misuse of the official vehicles by government officer’s families. These logbooks can also reveal if the vehicles used by the officials fall under their name or not. The denial of information about the vehicles is plainly illegal and unconstitutional.
In the notice, it is mentioned that the matter is reflective of inter-state relations and the disclosure of such information potentially damages the interest of Pakistan in the context of international relations.
The federal government has imposed a tax of 75 paisas on phone calls that exceed the duration of five minutes.
This was announced by Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin while concluding the budget discussion in the National Assembly on Friday.
Tarin said talking over the cellphone for more than five minutes will be taxed at 75 paisas, but there will be no tax on an SMS.
Tarin added that the government will take action against tax defaulters with the help of third party. “Arrest will be made after legal formalities.”
As per reports, the government has decided to decrease the taxes on 1000cc vehicles while tax imposed on milk and other items has also been fixed at 10 per cent, which was earlier proposed at 17pc.
The finance minister clarified that the federal government has not proposed any tax on flour or other items.
Property tax has been reduced to 20 per cent from the earlier proposal of 35 per cent.
Mentioning the government’s initiatives in the housing sector, Shaukat Tarin said now every citizen can avail bank loan to purchase or construct a house. Rs3 billion have been fixed for the payment of subsidies being offered by the government on housing loans, he added.
For Ehsaas Programme, the finance minister said Rs260 billion have been proposed for the financial grants in the upcoming financial year 2021-22.
