PORVORIM: Govt on Monday introduced various bills in the budget session of Goa legislative assembly, including the Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to replace Section 16B of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 with Section 39A for ease of land conversions.
Other bills include the Goa Motor Vehicles Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The Goa Land Use (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, The Goa Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024 and The Goa Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The Goa Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill states that under Section 39A, the chief town planner can alter or modify the regional plan or the outline development plan for carrying out change of zone of any land, except in a few cases.
“The alteration or modification will not change the overall character of the existing regional plan or the outline development plan,” states the bill.
The Goa Motor Vehicles Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is introduced to encourage registrations of high-end vehicles in the state. Earlier, govt had issued an ordinance to implement the law.
The Goa Land Use (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2024 introduced in assembly to allow govt to acquire for public purposes land that is vested in tenants.
In Nov last year, the cabinet had slashed the tax of vehicles costing over Rs 1 crore and rationalised the structure.
The cabinet also decided to simplify the tax payments for rental cars and two-wheelers, which is currently payable annually, by converting it into a one-time payment and issued the Goa Motor Vehicles Tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023.