GST impact: Trucks save 8 hrs on Chennai-Delhi run

Truck owners, logistics providers said not only had the tax saved time, it had also reduced costs

At around 3 am, a truck from the container freight station in Manali, north Chennai, began its journey. It took around three hours to reach the Karur check post on the border with Andhra Pradesh. Unlike in the past, when trucks used to spend three hours at this commercial tax check post, the truck just passed by without stopping.

The scene is same at the Athipally check post on the border with Karnataka. Trucks are happily passing by, to the satisfaction of drivers and relief of other travellers accustomed to be held up in traffic jams.

All this is thanks to the goods and services tax (GST) that came into effect on July 1. Truck owners and logistics providers said not only had the tax saved time, it had also reduced logistics costs. A Kannan, who drives a truck from Delhi to Chennai, said he saved eight and a half hours and the savings in logistics costs were 7-10 per cent. Athipally on the Karnataka border and Tada on the Andhra Pradesh border are gateways to Tamil Nadu, a major hub for the automobile industry. Hundreds of trucks pass through these check posts every day on their way up to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Valayar check post on the border with Kerala is notorious for delay. Truck owners said the minimum wait here was six hours and it could extend up to a day. The commercial tax check post here is now shut. “There are around 15,000 trucks going out and a similar number coming into the state every day. With commercial tax check posts removed, we have saved a lot of time,” said MR Kumarasamy, president, Lorry Owners’ Federation, Tamil Nadu.

Sources said one of the biggest savings was in bribes at the check posts. Squads are still occasionally conducting checks but this form of corruption has almost been wiped out. 

C Chandramouli, additional chief secretary and Tamil Nadu’s commissioner of commercial taxes, said all the check posts had been removed and the government was watching the situation. He added the state government was planning a mechanism to check taxes on petroleum and alcohol. The logistics industry said problems with the RTO persisted as vehicles needed clearance from the department. At the Poonmalle RTO check post, vehicles are still held up for around three hours.