Thinley Namgay
Civil and public servants (P3 level and above) who are entitled to vehicle quota can submit documents online.
The Ministry of Finance’s Electronic Vehicle Quota System (e-VQS) is expected to speed up the process and improve service delivery.
The system was launched yesterday in Thimphu. e-VQS can be availed through evq.mof.gov.bt/.
Currently, two types of quotas are being provided.
The first is the customs duty and sales tax exemption up to the ceiling of Nu 0.8M for civil servants, gups and the armed forces, among others. Parliamentarians fall under the second category, where customs duty and sales tax are fully exempted.
However, the green tax is mandatory in both categories.
Finance Secretary Nim Dorji said that e-VQS would address challenges such as incomplete documents from the applicants, time consumption and registration lapses from the ministry.
With the Pay Revision Act 2019, vehicle quota was provided with an option of monetised amount of Nu.0.25M for a regular vehicle or a monetised amount of Nu.0.35M on purchase of an electric vehicle.
“In 2019 to 2020, 1,814 applied for vehicle quota; 1,100 applicants took cash. However, due to the economic disruption posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, providing cash is temporarily deferred,” Nim Dorji said.
Officials from the finance ministry said e-VQS was one of the initiatives to digitalise the service and reduce administrative burden.
The government also initiated electronic public expenditure management system (e-PEMS), electronic daily allowance and travel system (e-DATS), electronic government procurement (e-GP) and BIT estimated tax apps (BETA Apps).
With the introduction of e-PEMS, the monetised amount for the vehicle quota has been directly credited to the beneficiary’s bank account.
The vehicle quota system was introduced in the 1980s when public transport was few and far between, to facilitate the import of foreign vehicles for public servants and to minimise the pressure on limited government pool vehicles.
Edited by Jigme Wangchuk