State rules
Road tax and permit rules for trucks, state by state
How each state charges road tax on goods vehicles, where the permit and the national permit authorisation fit, how fitness testing is moving to automated stations, and where each department publishes its current notification.
- States covered
- 12
- Regions
- 5
- Tax rates
- Linked to source
- Last checked
- 12 Nov 2026
Pick a state
Twelve states, one table
Filter by region, then open a state for its road tax structure, permit notes, testing station position and practical notes for fleets.
| State | RTO code | Region | Road tax charged under | Portal | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maharashtra | MH | West | Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1958 | transport.maharashtra.gov.in | Rules |
| Uttar Pradesh | UP | North | Uttar Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1997 | uptransport.upsdc.gov.in | Rules |
| Rajasthan | RJ | North | Rajasthan Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1951 | transport.rajasthan.gov.in | Rules |
| Gujarat | GJ | West | Gujarat Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1958 | parivahan.gov.in | Rules |
| Tamil Nadu | TN | South | Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1974 | tnsta.gov.in | Rules |
| Haryana | HR | North | Haryana Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 2016 | parivahan.gov.in | Rules |
| Punjab | PB | North | Punjab Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1924 | punjabtransport.org | Rules |
| Karnataka | KA | South | Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1957 | transport.karnataka.gov.in | Rules |
| Madhya Pradesh | MP | Central | Madhya Pradesh Motoryan Karadhan Adhiniyam, 1991 | parivahan.gov.in | Rules |
| Andhra Pradesh | AP | South | Andhra Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1963 | aptransport.org | Rules |
| Telangana | TG | South | Telangana Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1963 (as adapted from the Andhra Pradesh Act) | transport.telangana.gov.in | Rules |
| West Bengal | WB | East | West Bengal Motor Vehicles Tax Act, 1979 | parivahan.gov.in | Rules |
Who sets what
What the centre fixes and what each state decides
The Motor Vehicles Act and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules apply everywhere. Tax, testing locations and compounding amounts are where states differ.
| Topic | Set centrally | Decided by the state |
|---|---|---|
| Fitness certificate validity | Set by CMVR rule 62: two years up to eight years of age, then annual | Testing location: RTO inspection or a registered automated testing station, rolled out in phases |
| Road tax | No central road tax on goods vehicles | Each state's taxation act sets the schedule, the payment period, grace period and penalty |
| Goods carriage permit | Sections 66 and 88 of the Motor Vehicles Act; the national permit scheme | Home-state permits issued by the Regional Transport Authority |
| National permit authorisation | Annual fee paid online through the Parivahan national permit service | The home state issues the underlying national permit |
| Penalty amounts | The Motor Vehicles Act sets the amount, mostly as a ceiling | States notify compounding amounts, which can be different |
| PUC validity | CMVR rule 115: commonly 12 months for BS-IV and BS-VI, 6 months for older | Testing centres are authorised by the state |
Using these pages
Four checks before you pay or renew
The same routine works in every state. The state page tells you where to look; the vehicle record tells you the date.
- 01
Find your truck's home state
It is the state on the RC, and the first two letters of the number: MH, UP, RJ. A truck pays road tax to that state, wherever it runs.
- 02
Read the tax mode on VAHAN
The vehicle record shows whether tax is one-time or periodic, and the date it is paid up to. That date beats any rule of thumb.
- 03
Open the current notification
Each state page names the taxation act and the portal where the department publishes its schedule. Rates change with state budgets, so read the version in force on the day you pay.
- 04
Check the permit and testing position
Note the national permit and its authorisation as two dates, and check whether your RTO area tests fitness at an automated testing station.
Questions about state rules
Why don't these pages list the tax rates?
Goods vehicle tax rates and slabs change with state budgets and notifications, sometimes more than once a year. A rate copied onto a website goes stale. Each page tells you how the state structures the tax and where its current schedule is published, so you can read the figure that applies on the day you pay.
Does a national permit truck pay road tax in every state?
No. It pays road tax to its home state and an annual national permit authorisation fee online. The authorisation lets it run across India. The two are separate payments with separate dates.
What does "last checked" mean?
It is the date the page was last reviewed against the state's published sources. Every state page shows it. If a state notification is newer than that date, the notification wins.
My state is not listed. What should I do?
These 12 states cover the largest goods vehicle fleets. For any other state, the same structure applies: read the tax mode and paid-up date on VAHAN, then check the state transport department's notification. More states will be added.
Every truck's tax date, read from VAHAN.
PRACHSO reads the tax-paid-up date, the permit and the authorisation for every truck, whichever state it is registered in, and reminds the person who pays 30 days ahead.