[mithun]

My friend who had to re-register his 3 year old car at Bangalore after buying it from Kerala is now running from pillar to pillar to get the road tax refund from the Kerala RTO. Some of his friends are dissuading him saying it's almost impossible to get the tax back.

So, is there anyone@T-BHP who has ever got the Road Tax Refund from the concerned RTO ? I'm asking this because we all know of the typical Govt. setup !!!

Any tips to get Road Tax Refund quickly ?

[Sush]

Hi Mithun,

I got a road tax refund when I shifted from Bangalore to Noida. I knew one agent (working for Advaith Hyundai) and without his help, it would not have been possible. Once I shifted to Noida, I got my car re-registered in Noida. Then I sent the copy of the new RC to the agent in Bangalore and also filled up the refund form which he had sent earlier. Around 3 months after that I got a government pay order of around Rs. 30,000 :-)
The whole process will take atleast an year because you can file for refund only after you have got your car re-registered. I agent's fees was Rs. 1200.

[Su-47]

Mithun, very apt question. I hope there are more people like Sush who've accomplished this feat!

[vnabhi]

This is great to learn that someone has indeed got a refund !
I think a forum like Team-BHP should constitute a legal cell to chase up all delayed cases--I am sure there are scores of such cases where payments have not been released.
Else we should elicit information under the Right To Information Act.
Any ideas,anyone??

[pjbiju]

I think RTI could be used effectively to get the refund - first to find out the exact procedure required to be followed in a particular state and then to follow up on the status of the refund to get the actual refund.

[rajatsingh78]

I moved from NOIDA to Hyderabad in Sept. 2008, finally got the AP number in August 2009, and then asked an agent in NOIDA to follow on my behalf at the RTO, its been almost 3 months with the clerk delaying it, don't know when I will get my refund but I am ready to fight for this till the end with ZERO bribe in the process, till the time I get my hard earned money back

[pradkumar]

I got back the tax payed in Karnataka after paying a bribe of 5k through an agent. I had no other option because I didn't take an NOC from Pune when I relocated to Bangalore and everything was not done by the book.

Pradeep

[esteem_lover]

A friend of mine who picked up a Vtec from Madras, had it registered in KA & got his refund after 2 years.

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by rajatsingh78

I moved from NOIDA to Hyderabad in Sept. 2008, finally got the AP number in August 2009, and then asked an agent in NOIDA to follow on my behalf at the RTO, its been almost 3 months with the clerk delaying it, don't know when I will get my refund but I am ready to fight for this till the end with ZERO bribe in the process, till the time I get my hard earned money back

Any updates? Have you filed an RTI application? Thanks

[Sush]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Any updates? Have you filed an RTI application? Thanks

Hi All,

I had briefly described the process but this time I will be a little more explicit so that others can get their hard earned money back.

Before shifting from Bangalore to Noida I gave Rs 1200 (4 yrs back) to a guy working for Advaith Hyundai. He used to deal with the RTO department. He got me the NOC. Once my car was in Noida, I took the NOC and the car to the Noida RTO. I filled up some forms for road tax and then submitted the road tax. I had to again give around Rs 1000 to a person working there. I was told that the Noida RTO would be contacting the concerned RTO in Karnataka and I would get the new number once that procedure would be completed.

After 3-4 months, I got the new number. Then I sent the copy of the new RC to the agent in Bangalore and also filled up the refund form which he had sent earlier. Around 3 months after that I got a government pay order of around Rs. 30,000 :-) The interesting thing to note here is that I had to keep pursuing that agent to follow up with the RTO people there. Finally when I got my pay order, I noticed that it was prepared quite some time back and was going to expire in a couple of days. So I was lucky. But guys it's pretty doable and you just need to have patience for 6-7 months.

Apart from the above mentioned forms, I did not submit any other forms. It's advisable to use the service of some good agent as otherwise there will be more hassles.

[meerkat]

Hey, thanks a lot, Sush, for your detailed report. The problem for me is
that I'm away from BLR, so don't know how to find/employ a good agent.
In all probability, I'll be on my own, and shall have to apply remotely, by
post, -- hoping to fall back on RTI, if possible, if all else fails. That's why
it would be interesting to also know about the experience of
rajatsingh78, who is in a similar situation as mine. Thanks again.

[longhorn]

This is a really crappy affair. I think someone needs to file a case to get these laws changed. IMO an Indian citizen should be allowed to keep his car in any state for whatever duration he chooses to without having to re-register it each time he gets transferred by nature of his job or whatever the reason maybe. There should be a uniform tax rate across the country for particular model fixed by the central govt instead of leaving it to the whims and fancies of the state govt.

[rajatsingh78]

Originally Posted by meerkat

Any updates? Have you filed an RTI application? Thanks

I visited my hometown (Agra) and Delhi in December 2009, landed in Delhi on 18th Dec. 2009 night and the first thing I did on the 19th was visited the NOIDA RTO, met my agent who took me to meet the ARTO, I explained everything to him, showed him the proof that the car is registered in AP, he asked me to write an application on which he ordered for the next step, which was to put some report by some clerk,

I was then "shuttled" between two clerks on who would process next, I again went to the ARTO and asked him to be more specific on whom to approach, after this the file was submitted to the clerk for the report.

I was then asked to come back next week, I went to Agra on 21st Dec. and returned on 27th,

28, 29, 30 I was in the RTO everyday, driving from Delhi to NOIDA spending entire days just to get a few signatures. But on the 30th the file was approved and deposited at the accountant's office who asked me to either come or send someone with an authority letter to collect the draft in 15-20 days. The amount would be 75% of the total tax paid which would be aroung 19K, 20 days would be complete tomorrow and I would be calling my agent to find out if the draft is ready, will keep you guys posted on the progress,

Note - No bribe paid so far, only some precious vacation days wasted

[AltoHoncho]

Hi guys,

I am currently residing in Pune and soon shifting to Bangalore. My car is 11 months old and is registered in Pune, I'll be taking it to Bangalore and hence need to know what all things would be required here. My Car insurance is also due in a month so need someadvice on that as well.

I am not sure whether to re-register the car in Bangalore / to continue with the MH regn, will it be problemtaic etc etc. Please provide the guidance and if possible the contact number(s) of your agent(s) in Bangalore who got your work done.

Thanks.

[tintin82]

@AltoHoncho

Bangalore is pretty tolerant towards other state vehicles. You needn't re-register if you'll only be for a couple of years or so. Just pay the appropriate road tax and keep driving. If you need assistance with the RTO, you can contact AASI Automobile Association of Southern India - AASI. You've to become a member by paying a nominal fee. They go only by the book, no bribes and usually get any RTO related job done. I can provide the phone number of a couple of agents, but I have not personally dealt with them. I just got the numbers from friends when I wanted something done, but never went to them as I got it done myself.