Chandigarh: Now pay a cow cess of Rs 1000 on the registration of four-wheelers in the city. On Monday, the Chandigarh Administration notified a cow cess of Rs 1000 on the registration of four-wheelers sold within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh. The administration also fixed 6 paise per unit as the cow cess on the electricity used within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh.“Currently, the cess on the registration of four-wheelers is Rs 500, and on two-wheelers, it is Rs 200. Currently, the cow cess is 2 paise per unit,” said a UT official. The notification was issued by the UT local govt department under Section 7 of The Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, as applicable to the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The cess is levied and collected by the departments of the administration but allocated to the Chandigarh MC.The cess on the registration of vehicles will be levied and collected by the Regional Licensing Authority (RLA), Chandigarh Administration, for private vehicles. For commercial vehicles, the cess will be levied and collected by the State Transport Authority, Chandigarh Administration. The Superintending Engineer Electricity (OP) Circle, Chandigarh Administration, will collect the cess. Notably, in March this year, the MC house approved imposing an additional 6 paise on each unit of power.MC receives cow cess revenue through four administrative departments: State Transport Authority (STA), Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA), electricity department, and the excise and taxation department. The cow cess, as per the Excise Policy, will be levied at Rs 0.50 per bottle of 750 ml of Country Liquor, Rs 0.50 per bottle of 650 ml of Beer, and Rs 1 per bottle of 750 ml/700 ml of whisky, and will be deposited by the wholesale licensees in the dedicated bank account of the Municipal Corporation.The cow cess issue has been marred in controversy. “The administration in recent years slashed the share of MC in the cow cess collected by the UT excise and taxation department. In 2020-21, it was Rs 15.15 crore. It was Rs 20.25 crore in 2022-2023, but it was reduced to Rs 2.92 crore in 2024-2025.
