Shimla, April 1 -- Amid widespread outrage over a sharp hike in the border toll tax, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government on Tuesday decided that all non-Himachal passenger vehicles (up to 12 +1 capacity) will now pay Rs.100 as an entry fee. The move comes amid protests by the neighbouring states over the Sukhu's government's earlier proposal to increase the entry tax for light motor vehicles, including cars, jeeps and vans, from Rs.70 to Rs.130, with Punjab even threatening to ban entry of Himachal vehicles and impose retaliatory taxes. "The toll tax rate for passenger vehicles has been reduced from Rs.130 to Rs.100. Up to 12-seater passenger vehicles from other states will now have to pay Rs.100 as entry tax. The revision and reduction in the rates is aimed at providing relief to commuters and improving accessibility," read a government notification. The earlier notification had prescribed higher toll rates across vehicle categories, including Rs.130 per day for passenger vehicles (up to 12+1 capacity), Rs.200 for light commercial passenger vehicles, and up to Rs.900 for oversized multi-axle vehicles. "The government also proposes to issue concessional passes to border residents staying within 5 km of a toll barrier," Congress MLA Hardeep Bawa said. Earlier, this benefit was limited only to residents of Himachal staying within five km of toll barrier. Now, residents of adjoining states (living in border areas) will also be eligible for the concessional passes. Additionally, the government has also granted complete toll tax exemption to Himachal-registered commercial light motor vehicles, including taxis. Soon after the announcement, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring thanked Sukhu for reversing the hike in the entry tax on vehicles entering the hill state. "I express my profound gratitude to the CM of Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for conceding to our request to revert the entry tax for outside vehicles," he said in his post. Earlier, CM stated that a misinformation campaign was going on. Sukhu said he was unable to connect with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on the issue, but managed to speak to Punjab Congress chief Warring and leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa to mitigate the standoff. BJP staged a protest outside the assembly, demanding an immediate rollback of the recent decision to hike entry tax. Led by LoP Jai Ram Thakur, BJP members accused Sukhu government of imposing "ill-conceived" fiscal measures....