Entry fee in crores not yet paid, Uber, Ola lose surety

CHANDIGARH: The UT administration has forfeited the bank guarantee of cab aggregators Ola and Uber on account of non-payment of entry fee.
The state transport authority (STA) has forfeited Rs 20 lakh each bank guarantee of the two aggregators, asking them to deposit the outstanding amount within 30 days of the order, said sources.
"Ola has an outstanding amount of around Rs 4 crore on account of entry fee up to March 31, 2023.Uber has an outstanding amount of around Rs 2 crore," sources added.
If the aggregators do not make the deposit, the dues will be recovered as arrears of land revenue under the relevant Act/rules, and the licence of the aggregator cancelled after 30 days.
The aggregators have also been directed not to attach more cabs from Punjab and Haryana under their service. The aggregators will also not be issued licences under the new aggregator regime unless they pay the outstanding dues, sources said.
The latest action follows a recent meeting chaired by UT adviser Dharam Pal, wherein it was decided to initiate action against the aggregators for non-payment of dues.
Recently, a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report had also red-flagged the outstanding dues, and inability of the administration to recover the same.
The administration had granted licence to the two companies in 2018 for a period of five years. The licence expires later this year. "As per the 'Chandigarh Administration on Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules 2017', the companies were mandated to pay Rs 1,000 entry fee per vehicle per quarter on the cabs enrolled with it but registered in Punjab and Haryana," said the official.
"The administration has already issued three show-cause notices to the aggregators on the issue. The first one was in March 2021., then in April 2022 and the last one in March this year," said an official. The notices directed the companies to pay the dues "immediately" or face cancellation of licence.
The companies approached the Punjab and Haryana high court against the show-cause notice. The court directed, "We stay any coercive action in pursuance of the notice of March 13, 2023. It is, however, made clear that if an order is passed, in accordance with the rules in pursuance to the show-cause notice, then the writ petitioner will be at liberty to challenge the said order and the interim protection thereafter will only be extended for one week."
On the issue of non-payment of the entry fee, the STA initiated a major challan drive in January 2020 wherein the cabs with the aggregators were challaned for not having the entry-fee payment slips with them. In response, cab driver unions went on a more than three-week strike.