Now, Buying a New Car in Maharashtra Just Got Costlier as New Vehicle Tax Comes Into Effect

The Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Tax (Amendment) Act, 2025, came into effect on July 1, 2025. This new law has increased the one-time tax rates for new vehicle registrations across the state. The revised tax rates will impact buyers of new petrol, diesel, CNG, and LNG vehicles, as well as commercial and construction vehicles.

These are the new changes under the new structure:

1. Petrol cars registered in an individual's name will be taxed at 11% for vehicles under INR 10 lakh, 12% for those priced between INR 10 lakh and INR 20 lakh, and 13% for vehicles above INR 20 lakh. 

2. Diesel cars in the same categories will now be taxed at 13%, 14%, and 15%, respectively.

3. Cars imported into the state or registered under corporate names, whether petrol or diesel, will be taxed at a flat 20% rate, regardless of their price.

4. CNG and LNG vehicles will see a 1% hike in their one-time tax rate across all price categories.

5. One-time tax rates for petrol and diesel vehicles have been increased across all brackets. A new price-based tax system has been introduced for light goods vehicles and construction machinery.

The amendment has raised the price cap for tax calculations from INR 20 lakh to INR 30 lakh. This change results in a sharp increase in taxes for vehicles costing more than INR 20 lakh. For instance, luxury cars priced above Rs 1.30 crore (diesel) and Rs 1.50 crore (petrol) will now attract a one-time tax of nearly Rs 20 lakh.

The law also changes the taxation method for construction equipment like cranes, compressors, and projectors, along with goods carriers like pickup trucks and tempos with a gross vehicle weight of up to 7,500 kg. These vehicles will now be taxed based on price instead of weight. 

The tax rate for such vehicles has increased from 7% to 10%. As a result, a pickup truck costing INR 10 lakh, which earlier attracted a tax of INR 20,000, will now be taxed close to INR 70,000.

Although there were earlier discussions about taxing electric vehicles (EVs) above INR 30 lakh at 6%, this proposal was later dropped. EVs continue to enjoy tax benefits.

On June 25, 2025, the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner confirmed that the amended law was being implemented from July 1, 2025. However, Section 5(2) of the Act has not been brought into force yet.