A letter issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has resulted in toll operators in several parts of the country insisting that only those defence personnel who are traveling ‘on duty’ are entitled to toll tax exemption. There is disquiet among serving defence personnel over issuance of a letter by the MoRTH, which is in contravention of the Indian Tolls (Army & Air Force) Act, 1901. This letter has been released in the form of an RTI reply stating that defence personnel who are not ‘on duty’ are not entitled to toll tax exemption. This letter is now being flaunted by toll operators to refuse toll exemption to defence personnel. The grant of toll exemption to defence personnel had earlier in 2006 been challenged till the Supreme Court but the apex court had upheld the exemption.

Source: Indian Express September 07, 2016 15:00 UTC