Himachal Pradesh Gazette, No. 5, 08 April 2021

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राजपत्र, हिमाचल प्रदेश हिमाचल प्रदेश राज्य शासन द्वारा प्रकाशित वीरवार, 08 अप्रैल, 2021/18 चैत्र, 1943

हिमाचल प्रदेश सरकार

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT

NOTIFICATION

Shimla-02, the 30th March, 2021

No. TPT-F (6)-2/96-5.—Whereas a reciprocal Agreement between the State of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab had been entered on 28-08-2019 under sub- section 5 of the section 88 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 (No. 59 of 1988) for plying stage carriage services into the territory of each State.

05—राजपत्र/2021-08-04-2021 (83)84 राजपत्र, हिमाचल प्रदेश, 08 अप्रैल, 2021/18 चैत्र, 1943 And whereas, as per the requirement of sub-section 5 of Section 88 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, notice was issued to invite objections/suggestions from affected persons through notification of even No. dated 23-10-2019 followed by corrigendum dated 31-10-2019, within 30 days from the date of publication of this notice in the official gazette of Himachal Pradesh which was published in the Official Gazette of Himachal Pradesh on 26-10-2019.

And whereas, the objections/ suggestions received in this behalf have been duly considered.

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (6) of Section-88 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Governor Himachal Pradesh is pleased to publish the Reciprocal Transport Agreement between the State of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in the Official Gazette of Himachal Pradesh (Annexure-A), with the directions to State Transport Authority and Regional Transport Authorities in Himachal Pradesh to give effect to the provisions of this Agreement.

By order,

KAMLESH KUMAR PANT, IAS Principal Secretary (Transport).

___________

ANNEXURE - "A" Reciprocal Transport Agreement between the Government of Himachal Pradesh and Government of Punjab

TRANSPORT DEPARTMENT

NOTIFICATION

the 23rd March, 2021

No. ……………..In exercise of the powers conferred by sub Section (5) of section 88 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Draft of the proposal of Reciprocal Transport Agreement between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab was published vide Government of Himachal Pradesh, Department of Transport Notification No. TPT-F(6)-2/96-5 dated 23rd October, 2019 and 31st October, 2019 for inviting objections and suggessions thereon.

And whereas the objections/suggessions received in response to the proposal have been considered by the Government of Himachal Pradesh.

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub section (6) of Section 88 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the Governor of Himachal Pradesh is pleased to publish the Reciprocal Transport Agreement between Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, namely:—

Reciprocal Transport Agreement between the Governments of Himachal Pradesh and

Government of Punjab

THIS AGREEMENT is made on this 23rd day of March 2021 between the Governor of Himachal Pradesh (hereinafter referred to as the 'Government of Himachal, which expression shall include his successor in office) through the Principal Secretary to 'Government of Himachal Pradesh, Department of Transport of the one part and the Governor of Punjab (hereinafter referred85 राजपत्र, हिमाचल प्रदेश, 08 अप्रैल, 2021/18 चैत्र, 1943 to as the 'Government of Punjab' which expression shall include his successor in office) through the Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Transport of the second part.

WHEREAS, in view of the rapid economic development of the country, it is expedient to encourage the long distance inter-State transport of the passengers and goods between the States of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab and also to regulate, co-ordinate and control their operation, it is necessary to make a reciprocal agreement between the two reciprocating States.

AND WHEREAS the parties hereto agree that in supersession of all the previous agreements on the subject entered into between them, an agreement on the terms and conditions set out hereinafter may be made between them:

NOW THIS DEED WITNESSES and the parties hereby mutually agree as under:—

1. This agreement shall come into force on and from the date of its final publication in the Officical Gazette of the respective States.

2. Goods Carriage Permits:—

(i) Goods Carriage (Non-Temporary Permits).—The permits for goods carriage without restriction on their number belonging to each State shall be countersigned by the Transport Authority of the other State on the recommendation of the State Transport Authority or Regional Transport Authority concerned on single point tax basis. However, the permits countersigned prior to this agreement shall be valid till their validity.

(ii) Goods Carriage (Temporary Permits).—Temporary Permits valid for a period not exceeding thirty days may be issued by the Transport Authorities of either State without the prior concurrence of the Transport Authorities of the either State and also without restriction on their number. The vehicles covered by these permits will not pick up and set down goods between any two points within the territory of the other State. There will be no restriction on the number of the trips that may be performed by the vehicles during the currency of the permit.

3. Contract Carriage Permits:—

(i) Motor Cab or Maxi cab Tourist Permits (Non- Temporary Permits).—The motor cab under the contract carriage shall be countersigned asandwhen recommended by the Transport Authorities of the two States for operation in whole of the reciprocating State, but subject to the condition that the permit holders of the two States will have to pay the countersignature fee and such vehicle then be exempted from payment of Token Tax. However, such vehicle will have to pay the Passenger Tax at the rates prescribed in countersignature State. No intra-State business shall be carriedout on such permits. The vehicle covered by the above permits will not carry out business between any two points within the territory of the other State. The permits countersigned prior to this agreement shall be deemed to be valid to the period of their validity subject to the provision regarding payment of Tax.

(ii) Contract Carriage Permits (Temporary Permits under section 88(8) of the Act.—These permits may be issued by the Transport Authority of each State, without prior concurrence of the Transport Authority of the other State, according to the need of the tourists. The permit shall contain the detailed programme of the tour, showing the dates of onward and return journeys, the order in which the various places shall be visited along with and indication of the appropriate date of the arrival and the departure from each such place. The permit shall also contain list of passengers travelling in the vehicle.

(i) Reciprocal Agreement with regard to operation of stage carriages of Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS and Pepsu Road Transport Corporation on inter-State routes between States of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh shall be according to details contained in Appendix 'A-I' and 'A-II'. The operation of stage carriages of HRTC – State Transport Undertaking of Himachal Pradesh shall be according to the details contained in Appendix 'A-III'.

(ii) The number of trips allocated for each State on each inter-State route shall be fixed as far as possible according to the length of route falling in each State. A trip for purpose of this agreement shall mean single trip daily. The routes mentioned in Appendix A-I, A-II and A-III shall always mean the shortest direct route connecting the two terminals lying in the two States through the places mentioned therein. Any discrepancy discovered later in the name or length of route shown in the said Annexure shall promptly be corrected through correspondence between the reciprocating States and shall not be treated as any modification of the agreement.

(iii) The timetable for stage carriages for private permit holders shall be fixed by the permit issuing authorities of the two States and the time table for stage carriages of State Transport Undertakings shall be fixed by the State Transport Undertakings concerned, after mutual consultations with the approval of Secretary, Regional Transport Authorities concerned.

The operational staff of State Transport Undertaking of each State shall follow the time table and allow the facility of counters at the bus stands or stops as approved by the respective competent authorities of each State.

(iv) Passenger fares shall be charged according to the rates fixed by the respective States for the portion lying in the State.

(v) The stage carriage permits of both the States falling under reciprocal agreement shall be countersigned on the single point taxation basis that means every such permit holder shall have to pay only Motor Vehicle Tax or Special Road Tax etc., as the case may be.

(vi) If for any reason, it has not been possible to grant regular stage carriage permits due to pending finalization of the Transport Scheme as per sections 99 and 100 of the Act and to decide an application for the renewal of the permit before its expiry, the home State may issue temporary permits under Section 87 (1) (d) of the Act for a period upto four months under intimation to the reciprocating State and such temporary permit subject to proviso set out below, shall require countersignature of the reciprocating State, and the motor vehicle will be authorized to ply on single point taxation basis:

Provided that the application for renewal of countersignature has been submitted to the reciprocating State within time allowed for submission of renewal application under section 81 (2) of the Act.

(vii) All the stage carriage permits shall be granted or countersigned as per agreement entered into between the reciprocating States irrespective of any previous issues or disputes, if any.

(viii) If there is no provision in the scheme, then no permit for stage carriage shall be granted or countersigned other than that of State Transport Undertakings on nationalized routes or part thereof by the transport authorities of reciprocating States. The existing routes covered by private operators of Punjab in the territory of Himachal Pradesh are shown in Appendix A- IV and the existing routes covered by private operators of Himachal Pradesh in the territory of Punjab are87 राजपत्र, हिमाचल प्रदेश, 08 अप्रैल, 2021/18 चैत्र, 1943 shown in Appendix A-V. If through an oversight any stage carriage permit held by the private operators of both the reciprocating States on any inter-State route falling in each other territory is left to be included in the Agreement, the same shall be included in the agreement with the mutual consent of both the States and that shall be deemed to be a part of the agreement.

(ix) The State Transport Undertakings of both the reciprocating States can operate any inter-State route by any vehicle out of its fleet, owned or hired by concerned State Transport Undertakings. However, any Bus which is not owned by the State Transport Undertakings shall at all time carry a certificate in the prescribed proforma issued by the Secretary, State Transport Authority or Regional Transport Authority concerned verifying the fact that the bus is hired or leased on long lease basis by the State Transport Undertaking of the concerned State.

(x) New services of stage carriages on the inter-State routes may be added upto 5,000 Kilometers keeping in view the overall public demand by mutual consent in writing with both the State Transport Commissioner and such stage carriages shall be deemed to be part of the Agreement. This will also imply that tax on this mileage will be charged as leviable on the mileage covered under the reciprocal agreement.

(xi) All the previous stage carriage permits, which are countersigned by either State, before coming into force of this agreement shall remain in force and will become part of Agreement.

(xii) No advertising device, figure or writing shall be exhibited on any stage carriage vehicle by framing a scheme by mutual agreement.

(xiii) Stage carriage buses shall operate by entering or touching the bus stands falling on the route as approved by the respective competent authority of respective State.

5. Private Service Vehicle Permits.—Private service vehicle permits (substantive or temporary) granted by one Authority shall be countersigned by the State Transport Authority of other State on the recommendation of permits issuing Authority till the validity of the permit for the area specified in the permit subject to the condition that the permit holder of the two State will have to pay the countersignature fee and other taxes at the rates prescribed in the countersignature State from time to time.

6. General provisions for temporary permits.—

(i) Separate list of different types of Temporary Permits (Goods Carriage or Contract Carriage) issued in each month shall be submitted to the Transport Commissioners of each State by the respective State.

(ii) The Transport Authority of each State granting such permit shall direct the owner or driver to pay the taxes at the Tax Collection Centres or Check Posts at border before entering into the respective State.

(iii) All Temporary Permits, other than those issued under section 87(1)(d) of the Act if countersigned or allowed, shall be on double point taxation basis which means every such permit holder shall have to pay both Motor Vehicles Tax or Special Road Tax or Passenger Tax or Goods tax etc., as the case may be, along with the countersignature fee of the concerned State.

(iv) No vehicle covered by any permit shall be older than fifteen years from the date of its original registration at the time of submission of application for countersignatures.

7. Taxation.—The taxes of reciprocating States in respect of different types of vehicles operating on various classes of permits shall be payable as per provisions of the relevant Taxation Act and Rules of the respective States.

8. Countersignature.—The countersignature shall be granted by the State Transport Authority or Regional Transport Authority or District Transport Officer of any State, as the case may be, on the recommendations made by the Transport Authority of the respective State.

9. Corridor route.—In view of the geographical position of the two States of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, some routes may have their originating and terminating points in one State have to pass through a small portion of the territory of the other State. The motor vehicles of the one State permitted to ply on such route, have, therefore, to pass through the small enclaves in the other State to complete the whole journey.

Under the second proviso of Section 88(1) of the Act, it has been provided that where both the starting point and the terminal point of a route are situated within the same State, but part of such route lies in any other State and the length of such part does not exceed sixteen kilometers, the permit shall be valid in other State in respect of that part of the route which is in that other State, notwithstanding that such permit has not been countersigned by the State Transport Authority or the Regional Transport Authority, as the case may be, of the respective State.

In view of this specific provision of the law, countersignature of the permits of vehicles, availing corridor facility shall not be necessary, but such permits, for purpose of taxes shall be treated at par with permits which are duly countersigned and shall be allowed on single point taxation basis.

Whenever, the permits are granted by the Transport Authority of reciprocating State to operate the vehicle on corridor routes of other State, such permits shall be clearly endorsed by the issuing authority that countersignature of permit is not required under the second proviso to sub- section (1) of Section 88 of the Act. The Motor Vehicle Tax or Special Road Tax, as the case may be, shall be recovered by the concerned State for the portion falling in its area as per their Taxation Act and Rules.

10. General:—

(i) The reciprocating States shall accord recognition of the tax tokens, drivers and conductor license, transport vehicle authorization and the certificate of fitness issued under the relevant rules of each of the two States in respect of vehicles operating on inter-State routes, in accordance with this agreement.

(ii) This agreement shall be valid till such time as a new agreement is arrived at between the two States by mutual consent. This agreement can, however, be rescinded by either State after issue of six months notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the parties hereto have signed this agreement on this day and year first above written.

For and on behalf of the Governor of Punjab For andon behalf of the Governor of Himachal Pradesh.

Principal Secretary to Government of Punjab, Department of Transport.

Principal Secretary to Government of Himachal Pradesh, Department of Transport.

(1) State Transport Commissioner,

Punjab, Chandigarh.

(1) State Transport Commissioner, Himachal Pradseh, Shimla.

(2)................................ (2)................................

APPENDIX 'A-I'

[See para 4(i)]

Summary of Mileage of each Depot of Punjab Roadways in Himachal Pradesh, both corridor and Interstate Routes

Existing Mileage: 20017.0 Km New Mileage: 16772.0 Km Total Mileage: 36789.0 Km

Existing Mileage of Punjab Roadways Depots in Himachal Pradesh

1. CHANDIGARGH

2. LUDHIANA

3. JALANDHAR-1

3. JALANDHAR-2

5. BATALA

6. FEROZEPUR

8. NANGAL

9. JAGRAON

10. MOGA

11. S.B.S. NAGAR

12. PATHANKOT

13. HOSHIARPUR

14. AMRITSAR-1

16. TARN TARAN

17. PATTI

Proposal for the inclusion of new routes by Punjab Roadways Depots in Himachal

Pradesh:—

1. CHANDIGARH

2. ROOPNAGAR

3. LUDHIANA

4. JALANDHAR-1

6. BATALA

7. FEROZEPUR

8. MUKTSAR

9. NANGAL

10. JAGRAON

11. MOGA

12. S.B.S.NAGAR

13. PATHANKOT

14. HOSHIARPUR

15. AMRITSAR-1

16. AMRITSAR-2

17. TARN TARAN

18. Patti

APPENDIX A-II

List of total routes and mileage of PRTC to be covered in Himachal Pradesh including the old

as per Notification No. 11/54/2007–5T3/643 dated 23-01-2008 and fresh mileage to be included

in the new agreement.

Proposal of new routes to be included in the Reciprocal Agreement with Himachal Pradesh

APPENDIX A-III HRTC OPERATION IN PUNJAB STATE

HRTC OPERATION IN CORRIDOR AREA

APPENDIX 'A-IV'

[See para 4 (viii)]

Details of mileage to be covered by the Punjab Private operators in Himachal Pradesh on

Inter-state and on corridor routes