The state government has decided to introduce point of sale (PoS) machines, where one can make a payment by swiping a card, at all regional transport offices in Kolkata and the districts to cut down on cash transactions.
The transport department has signed an MoU with a private bank to instal these machines at the counters where vehicle owners queue up to pay taxes and make other payments incash.
Officials said the facility is likely to be introduced in two weeks.
None of the regional transport offices in Kolkata and the districts has POS machines.
“There have been complaints about the existing system of online payment. Users often say the required amount is debited from their accounts but the transaction does not get reflected on the transport department’s site,” said a senior official in the transport department.
“That means if someone pays a fine but the transaction does not get reflected on the department’s website, the fine amount will keep increasing by the day,” the official said.
The glitch in the payment gateway often forces users, mostly owners of private cars, to queue up at the nearest transport department office to pay in cash.
“I paid Rs 36,000 as tax for my car two weeks back in the Kasba office of the transport department. I didn’t want to take a risk by making an online payment,” said Anindya Chatterjee, a resident of New Ballygunge.
The POS machines will have links to the transport portals, including Vahan, where the data will be immediately uploaded.
If a vehicle owner has cleared his pending taxes or fines using a POS machine at any transport department office, it will get immediately reflected in the central database, senior officials of the department said.
A trial with POS machines has been carried out in several transport department offices in Kolkata and districts.
“The loose ends are being tied before the facility is launched within two weeks,” an official said.
