PORVORIM: The Goa government lost revenue to the tune of Rs 500 crore in the last five years as 18,000-odd taxi operators in the State were not brought under the ambit of taxes, claimed Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho.
Replying to a starred question tabled by Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar demanding that the government close a counter allotted to the GoaMiles App-based taxi aggregator at the Mopa airport, Godinho said, “Since GoaMiles commenced operations in 2018, as many as 1,560 taxis registered with them. They have paid Rs 6.96 crore in GST and Rs 1.5 crore as TDS to the government till date, after they came under the ambit of taxes,” he said, adding that GoaMiles was instrumental in making the unaccountable taxi business accountable.
The Minister said that 513 persons, mostly from Pernem taluka, were registered with the GoaMiles aggregator taxi service operating at the Mopa airport. He claimed that 90 percent of them were driver-cum-owners (DCO) while only 10 per cent of taxi owners had employed drivers.
He said that if there are 18,000 tourist taxis on the roads that are not paying GST and TDS, and are also not app-based, the State government is losing around Rs 90 to 100 crore every year. In the last five years, the government lost nearly Rs 500 crore, he said.
Arlekar reiterated his demand to discontinue the counter allotted to the GoaMiles at the Manohar International Airport, since they are app-based taxis. He demanded to know whether the app-based taxi aggregator can be permitted along with the prepaid taxi counter on the same platform. “I want to know if the government will remove the GoaMiles counter at Mopa airport,” he said.
The Minister told him that there was no restriction under the current regulatory framework that prevents app-based taxi aggregators like GoaMiles from operating counters alongside prepaid taxi counters on the same platform. Most airports across the country feature app-based taxis, he added.
Godinho further said that the MLA’s demand asking GoaMiles to increase taxi fares was ridiculous. “How can you tell someone to increase fares when you get a taxi at low fares? Goans prefer GoaMiles taxis because their fares are 20 percent less than other taxi fares. It should be the customer’s choice to choose taxi service,” Godinho said.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that he will soon convene a meeting of all stakeholders and resolve the pending issue.
