Four bidders vied for the number AP09 CR 7777, the hammer eventually going down for an astounding Rs. 2.22 lakh
continues to hit a new high in the city.
On June 11, a
private company bid a jaw-dropping Rs.1.81 lakh for the number AP09 CR
6666 for its Rolls Royce at the Khairatabad RTO. The figure has been
eclipsed in the space of less than a month.
This
time, four bidders vied for the number AP09 CR 7777, the hammer
eventually going down for an even more astounding Rs. 2.22 lakh. Banjara
Hills resident Venkat Rao T. bid successfully for his Range Rover,
Khairatabad Regional Transport Officer S. Chandrasekhar said.
Advantage RTO
The
transport department’s coffers, meanwhile, has been overflowing with
money from these auctions. Since January this year, the Khairatabad
office netted over Rs. 37 lakh through auction of fancy registration
numbers. The figure for the whole of last year was over Rs. 2.80 crore.
Of all the numbers, the highest bid was for AP09 CM 9999, which fetched
about Rs.8.50 lakh and AP09 CH 9999 and AP09CJ 9999 went for 8.25 lakh
each. In 2011, the office earned close to Rs.2.20 crore.
Generally,
vehicle owners try for a ‘9999’ number, irrespective of the series. At
times, 10 to 15 owners bid for a single number, Mr. Chandrasekhar said,
sounding confident.
“We have already earned Rs. 37 lakh this year and I am pretty sure we will cross the earnings of the last two years,” he said.
Though
there are four other RTOs — Secunderabad, Malakpet, Mehdipatnam and
Bahadurpura — in the capital, bidding for numbers is generally higher at
the Khairatabad office.
After successfully bidding
for a number, a vehicle owner has to register the number within 15 days
from the date of bid closure. Otherwise, it would be cancelled and the
number added to the leftover numbers list in the respective series. The
bid amount will neither be refunded nor the number allotted to other
vehicle owners.
Source: http://to.ly/mdNT
