Road tax due dates for commercial vehicles in India, quarter by quarter
Which quarters road tax runs on, when each quarter’s tax falls due, why the rules differ from state to state, and a simple routine so a lorry on the road never misses a payment.
Last updated · 6 min read · By the Gaadi Tracker team
Road tax on commercial vehicles in India is a state subject. Each state’s Motor Vehicles Taxation Act decides how much you pay, how often, and what happens when you pay late. That is why two transporters in different states can give you different answers to “when is my lorry’s tax due?”, and both be right.
What most owners of goods and passenger vehicles share is the quarterly cycle. Where a state collects tax on a lorry, truck, van or bus every quarter, the year is split the same way everywhere.
The four quarters
| Quarter | Months | Tax for this quarter falls due |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | April, May, June | At the start of April |
| Q2 | July, August, September | At the start of July |
| Q3 | October, November, December | At the start of October |
| Q4 | January, February, March | At the start of January |
Quarterly tax is paid in advance: you pay for April–June at the beginning of April, not at the end of June. Many states allow a short window at the start of the quarter to pay without penalty. The length of that window, and the penalty after it, is set by each state.
Check with your state. Before you rely on any date, confirm the grace period and penalty for your vehicle class with your RTO or your state transport department’s website. Rules change, and some vehicle classes in some states pay annually or a one-time tax instead of quarterly.
Which vehicles usually pay quarterly
The vehicles most often on a quarterly cycle are goods carriages (lorries, trucks, tippers, tempos) and passenger transport vehicles beyond small cabs (vans, minibuses, buses). Tax is commonly worked out from the vehicle’s gross vehicle weight or laden weight for goods vehicles, and from seating capacity for passenger vehicles.
Private cars, two-wheelers and many light passenger vehicles such as autos and taxis are usually taxed differently, often as a one-time or long-period tax at registration. If you run a mixed fleet, don’t assume your cab and your lorry follow the same calendar.
Where to pay
Most states let you pay road tax online through the Parivahan Vahan portal, using the vehicle’s registration number, or at the RTO counter. Keep the receipt. A roadside check or a permit renewal can ask for proof that the current quarter is paid.
Road tax is separate from:
- Permit fees, including the authorisation fee for a National Permit.
- Fitness certificate renewal for transport vehicles.
- Insurance and PUC.
Each of those has its own date, and none of them is paid by paying road tax.
Why lorries miss it
It is rarely about money. It is about timing. A lorry leaves on a long run on 28 March, the quarter turns on 1 April while it is two states away, the owner is busy with loading and payments, and by the time anyone remembers, the grace window has gone. Multiply that by four quarters and several vehicles and something will slip.
Three habits fix most of it:
- Know the quarter start for every heavy vehicle, written down in one place, not in your head.
- Get a reminder before the quarter starts, not on the day. A week before is enough to arrange the money.
- Mark each quarter paid the moment you pay, with the date, so nobody pays twice and nobody assumes someone else paid.
How Gaadi Tracker handles it
For every lorry, truck, van and bus in your fleet, Gaadi Tracker shows a road tax reminder before each quarter. When the quarter starts and the tax isn’t marked paid, it shows as due. Tap Mark paid once it is done and the reminder clears until the next quarter.
The driver also sees a reminder when they start a shift on a vehicle whose tax is due, so the person holding the vehicle knows too. The reminder never stops the driver from starting the shift: the lorry still runs, and you still get told.
A sample year for one lorry
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Late March | Reminder: Q1 tax for TN 07 AV 2290 coming up |
| Start of April | Q1 due. You pay online and tap Mark paid |
| Late June | Reminder: Q2 coming up |
| Start of July | Q2 due. Paid, marked |
| Late September | Reminder: Q3 coming up |
| Start of October | Q3 due. Paid, marked |
| Late December | Reminder: Q4 coming up |
| Start of January | Q4 due. Paid, marked |
Four payments, four taps, nothing chased at the checkpost.
Summary
- Quarterly road tax runs April–June, July–September, October–December and January–March.
- It is paid in advance, at the start of each quarter.
- Grace periods, penalties and which vehicles are quarterly differ by state: confirm with your RTO.
- Road tax doesn’t cover permit, fitness, insurance or PUC.
- A reminder before each quarter, plus a “paid” mark, stops almost every miss.
See how this fits with fuel average and tons × rate earnings on the lorry and truck owners page.