JOHOR BARU: Lorry owners are crying foul over discrepancies in how the authorities have handled road tax payments, claiming that the Road Transport Department (JPJ) has increased charges when the Government has announced otherwise.
Pan Malaysia Lorry Owners Association (PMLOA) president Er Sui See said instead of enjoying lower payments following the Government’s announcement under Budget 2003, lorry owners had been slapped with a higher road tax bill by JPJ from Jan 1.
He said this was a shock as the association had received letters from the Finance and Transport Ministries last year informing them of the new road tax scheme.
“However, when our members went to pay road tax on Jan 1, they had to fork out between 20% and 25% more than the previous charges and were shocked as they had expected to pay less.
“The level of miscommunication is appalling and what is worse is that we have to bear the brunt of it. No one could give us any explanation as to what has happened,” he said in an interview.
Association members, he added, were upset as the inefficiency of certain authorities had forced them to dig deeper into their pockets, especially when business was just picking up.
Last year, road tax for a 32-tonne lorry was RM680 per month. Under Budget 2003, a reduction was announced, with road tax for the same lorry dropping to RM492 per month beginning Jan 1.
However, lorry owners found themselves paying RM821 monthly instead, 20% more than the old charges.
Er said PMLOA would be meeting with Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chan Kong Choy soon to seek clarification on the matter.
An official at the JPJ head office declined to comment on the matter but said it was being looked into.
