Supreme Court ends ‘essential’ exemption, all vehicles to pay green cess for Delhi
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, directed all commercial vehicles entering Delhi to uniformly deposit ECC.
The Supreme Court has removed a decade-old exemption on commercial vehicles carrying essential commodities from paying the environment compensation cess (ECC) before entering the Capital, a decision that could ease the pollution load and traffic congestion at Delhi’s borders.
In an order passed last Friday, a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, directed all commercial vehicles entering Delhi to uniformly deposit ECC after the court found that its order granting exemption to essential goods carriers posed a “genuine” difficulty. The order was released Tuesday.
First imposed in 2015, ECC is a fee levied on commercial vehicles entering Delhi to offset the Capital’s severe air pollution. The cess, introduced on the recommendations of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, is collected in addition to regular tolls. Its aim was to disincentivise entry of polluting vehicles into Delhi and fund cleaner public transport and pedestrian projects.
ECC was not levied on vehicles carrying essential commodities such as vegetables, fruits, milk, grains, egg, ice (to be used as food item), poultry items, and salt as well as empty/partial laden vehicles. As a result, till now, all commercial vehicles had to stop for physical verification before they were allowed to enter, resulting in serpentine queues of vehicles at the border gates.
The court order came on an application moved by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) which cited “operational challenges” in implementing the court’s order. The civic body sought the uniform levy of ECC on all commercial vehicles entering Delhi.
In its submissions, MCD said that the long stoppages deteriorated the air pollution level in the area, making the exemption granted by the top court on October 9, 2015 counterproductive.
The bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, further noted that its order will not impact the price of essential commodities as “the levy imposed is not of such a high nature”.
The civic body calculated the impact on the price of essential commodities to vary from ₹0.13 to ₹0.28 per kg only.
Still, ECC will continue to remain exempted for ambulances, fire engines and oil tankers. MCD officials said that the changes will come into effect soon and an official communication is being sent to the private agency collecting charges.
A senior civic official said the new order will ease traffic congestion on border points and boost the revenue for the environment fund. The move will also help in the planned projects for integrating the Delhi toll tax collection system with NHAI’s Fastag system. A senior municipal corporation official said, “To provide these exemptions, we need to physically stop the vehicles, inspect them, click pictures which leads to queue build up. With uniform ECC rates, we will not stop vehicles and flow on border points will improve.”
Appearing for the MCD, senior advocate Sanjiv Sen, said, “The continuation of these exemptions undermines the intent and scope for which ECC was introduced.”
Sen said, “The unchecked movement of these vehicles through toll points, while other vehicles being made to bear the ECC burden, creates disparity. It diminishes the deterrent effect of ECC and weakens collective efforts to mitigate pollution.”
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh assisting the court as amicus curiae informed the court that the exemption was granted in 2015 to ensure essential commodity vehicles are allowed a free pass to deliver goods meant for public good.
