Bangalore - Own a vehicle from another state? Pay up arrears

BANGALORE: It's time to get the registration of your vehicle changed if you are from another state. From July second week, the transport department will commence a campaign against vehicles registered outside Karnataka and will issue demand notice for the road tax due from them.

"We will demand road tax arrears for getting the vehicles into Karnataka and those vehicles which had run in the state for the past one year and above will be liable for paying road tax. But the vehicles entering the borders from other states will not be disturbed," said Prasad Satyanarayana, deputy commissioner of transport (Bangalore Urban). He said several non-transport (private vehicles) running in the city have been registered in other states.

"The intensive checks on vehicles from outside the state and slapping of fine or road tax due from them will be done only after checking documents like the insurance, pollution under control certificates and other credentials that will prove that the vehicle had been in the state for more than one year," he said.

An official of the department said there are several new cars in the state registered in Puducherry. Most people who own high-end cars are the tax evaders. Puducherry and its other UT subsidiaries like Karaikkal in Tamil Nadu, Yanam in Andhra Pradesh and Mahe in Kerala attract lesser road tax and central excise duty.

"The high-end cars have tax ceiling and excise duty is less in Puducherry. Such cars are also levied 15 per cent or more additionally for road tax and duty based on its invoice price. The road tax and duty in the Union Territory (UT) will be less than 10 per cent. Motorists feel that they can save lakhs of rupees by registering them in the UT after obtaining a local residential proof, which most of the time will not be authentic," said an official.

Joint commissioner of transport (enforcement) Maruti Sambrani said all jurisdictional regional transport officers have been intimated about the campaign, which will be intensified from next Monday.

A police officer said that it has become difficult to trace and nab the offenders involved in traffic offences and accidents as often police have to approach regional transport offices outside the state. "The response from these offices are lukewarm and police had to close all cases, including some serious ones, for want of proof," he added.

Source: http://to.ly/mciW