CAG finds 197 unfit vehicles in 19 fatal Kerala accidents

It covered sectors including vehicle taxes, excise duty, stamp duty, registration fees, and agricultural income tax.

Who it concerns: Government of Kerala, specifically the Motor Vehicles Department, Excise Department, Registration Department, Forest Department, and State Goods & Services Tax Department.

What the auditor found

• Total revenue impact of findings is ₹603.53 crore across 11 paragraphs.
• ₹37.48 crore was spent on modernization (Automated Driving Test Tracks and Testing Stations), but only two tracks were functional and none of the stations were operational.
• ₹2.57 crore in Green Tax was not levied due to reliance on self-declarations.
• ₹23.12 crore in penalties and fees were not collected from 48,059 vehicles operating with expired Certificates of Fitness.
• ₹24.57 crore in fines and renewal fees were not collected from vehicles with expired Registration Certificates.
• ₹12.18 crore in compounding fees were not collected from vehicles operating without valid permits or certificates.
• ₹51.88 crore in revenue was lost due to unaccounted Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) stock at a distillery in Thiruvalla, with no recovery action taken.
• ₹13.81 crore in Turnover Tax was not levied on a brewery in Kanjikode that incorrectly claimed an exemption meant for distilleries.
• ₹1.65 crore in Turnover Tax was short-levied due to calculation errors by assessing authorities.
• ₹3.71 crore in Sales Tax was short-levied due to incorrect tax rates applied by assessing officers.
• ₹5.10 crore in estimated revenue was lost due to the possible diversion of 12,302 cases of imported liquor intended for Mahe into the Kerala market.
• ₹27.40 crore in lease rent was short-collected from a rubber company due to non-revision of rates.
• ₹1.70 crore in Forest Revenue was lost due to non-levy of revised licence fees from the Government of Tamil Nadu.
• Recommendations include automating driver license issuance, conducting regular independent stock verifications in distilleries, and implementing GPS-enabled transit permit tracking.

Also in the document

• CAG found that 197 vehicles with expired Certificates of Fitness were involved in accidents resulting in 19 fatalities, while 147 vehicles with expired Registration Certificates were involved in accidents resulting in 13 fatalities.
• CAG noted that despite spending ₹37.48 crore on automated testing infrastructure, the department continued to rely on manual licensing and testing because the systems were not operational.
• CAG identified that 22 transit permits for liquor imported into Mahe had no corresponding exit records, indicating possible diversion of 1,10,720 bulk litres of liquor to the Kerala market for illicit sale.