[hserus]

Originally Posted by 4x4addict

Tax is calculated on the Original Invoice, RTO cannot *revalue* the car.

Personally, I am glad this crackdown is happening in Tamil Nadu & Kerala also. It was always the case in Karnataka. When I got my car, the dealer offered this PY thing. I flatly refused as I know that some PY luxury cars were already facing issues in TN.

Original invoice is "mislaid"
RTO uses a standard table of costs for various cars and their variants
Would be a top end but RTO picks the lowest end model for valuation purposes
Enters 2013 as a typo instead of 2015 when calculating

All of it saves a certain amount of money when the car is brought over and taxed. After that there is all the interest gained from even keeping the life tax savings in an FD for the period till forced to re-register.

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by hserus

Original invoice is "mislaid"
RTO uses a standard table of costs for various cars and their variants

I have actually re-registered two cars in TN which I bought outside the state. Invoice is absolutely required. It is all computerized now, they can't enter whatever value they want.

[srikanthns]

All of this begs the question: Why the tax should be different across different states? I read in the cine actor's case, it was 1.5 lakh in Puduchery and if it was registered in Kerala, the tax would've been close to 20 lakh! This is sheer exploitation in my dictionary! And one more question to boot: After paying through our nose, what is the kind of roads we get to drive our vehicle on ?

[rubicon]

This issue has reached Kiran Bedi (current Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry). Lets see if at all there is any change after this..

http://indianexpress.com/article/ind...-paul-4918461/


Moving against what she calls the “unethical and illegal” practice of registration of luxury vehicles in Puducherry by owners who are not residents of the Union Territory, Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi has ordered a probe, saying the rich and famous have been forging local addresses for registration of vehicles “worth crores” to “save a few lakhs” in road tax. And in the line of fire are celebrities and politicians including Malayalam film actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, and Amala Paul who, official sources said, got their vehicles registered in Puducherry using local addresses.

Bedi, who conducted an inspection at the transport department a day earlier, told The Indian Express that up to 80-90 such vehicle registrations were being done in Puducherry on daily basis. She said “this unethical and illegal acts help celebrities save up to 15 per cent tax in registration”. She said a loophole in the law helps vehicle owners get away with road tax that they should actually be paying in their home states.

“The rule says that if you are staying for more than six months in a place, you should be paying the road tax there. But in Puducherry’s corrupt system run by a network of car dealers and brokers and officials, all that you need is a letter from a notary to buy an LIC policy which is then used as temporary address proof to register your vehicle. It’s high time LIC changes its rules. They should be insisting on a passport or Aadhaar card for LIC policies. I have also asked the Law Secretary here to probe 86 people with notary licences in Puducherry. Rich people, including politicians and celebrities, are misusing this to save a few lakhs for their cars worth crores of rupees,” she said.

Puducherry Transport Minister M O H F Shahjahan denied reports of alleged illegalities in vehicle registration. But Bedi said Shahjahan himself is a car-seller “who inherited his father’s business in Puducherry”. She said “he probably may be losing business if we prevent non-residents from registering their vehicles here”.

Sources said Suresh Gopi got an Audi Q7 registered in Puducherry, paying a road tax of around Rs 1 lakh. He would have paid around Rs 15 lakh in Kerala where he is a permanent resident. There were documents, sources said, to show that Gopi gave a Puducherry address — Karthik Apartments, 100 Feet Road, Ellaipillaichavady, Puducherry.

The Indian Express called Gopi for comments but a person who answered the phone said the number did not belong to him. Earlier, speaking to Malayalam mediapersons, Gopi said he would respond, if required, to the authorities concerned. Actor Paul, sources said, bought a Mercedes Benz car worth around Rs 1.12 crore from Karnataka. She was said to have saved around Rs 20 lakh by getting it registered in Puducherry. She was not available for comment Wednesday but she posted a photo on Facebook with a note. It said she needed to run away from the craziness of city life and needless speculation. “For now I am preferring a boat ride, at least no allegations of breaking the law or should I double check with my ‘well wishers’,” Paul wrote.

Meanwhile, Kerala Transport Commissioner Anil Kant has written to his Puducherry counterpart, S D Sundaresan, seeking urgent action against those who evade road tax in their home states. Calling such acts “illegal” and a “threat to national security,” Kant’s letter said such registrations in Puducherry, using fake addresses, were being done to evade tax and “escape from other offences such as violation of traffic rules, overspeed and other punishable activities”.

Bedi, on her part, maintained Puducherry was not losing money. “But see, a particular flaw in the system and those who misuse it are actually polluting my system, my entire transport department. A notary licence is not to certify a false address for someone. Being silent on this issue will mean I am encouraging falsehood,” she said.

“Not just actors and politicians, many luxury buses from other states are also being registered in Puducherry while running no service here. It was Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who alerted me about his state losing huge revenue due to this. I have asked him for more details for further action,” she said.

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by rubicon

This issue has reached Kiran Bedi (current Lieutenant Governor of Pondicherry). Lets see if at all there is any change after this..

http://indianexpress.com/article/ind...-paul-4918461/

Because of this, we residents of Pondicherry also has to suffer. I was driving my PY registered two wheeler in Chennai for sometime. I was pulled over by cops thrice and they asked me to pay the road tax for driving PY vehicle here in TN. When I shown my PY residency proof (Aadhar and Voter ID copies) to them, one traffic constable has the audacity to say that they are running short of targets for the day asked me if I am okay for a speeding ticket fine of Rs.100. I paid 100, got the receipt and left without saying a word as I was totally exhausted for the day . It happened couple of years back.

[honeybee]

Won't it help if Aadhaar was made mandatory when buying a car? Simple and effective! This should be done at every RTO so the owner can verify his or her aadhaar details while buying a new car or transferring a car from elsewhere.

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by honeybee

Won't it help if Aadhaar was made mandatory when buying a car? Simple and effective! This should be done at every RTO so the owner can verify his or her aadhaar details while buying a new car or transferring a car from elsewhere.

They should make it mandatory. They will ask for it when you go to a dealership. But there are people within dealership who makes it easy for people to register a vehicle without any Local ID proof provided you are ready to pay that extra amount. As mentioned in the article, there is a syndicate working in RTO office for all these kind of activities.

Just take a look around the nearby TN villages and small towns in 50KM radius. 99% of people will be driving a PY registered two-wheelers and cars. Even my own friends and relatives also doing the same .

[hema4saran]

Originally Posted by tosathyas

In AP we can run the other state registered vehicles by just paying the road tax (without registering in AP RTO or change number). Is this possible in Chennai? I have a MH registered car and wondered if I can make a payment of roadtax alone and continue with the number. Also is this less expensive than re-registering, coz mine is not a fancy number to retain.

Yes. This is possible in TN. You can pay the road tax for your car and obtain a NOC from the RTO. But it all depends on the age of the car and how long you are planning to retain the car and also stay in TN.

Just check in the nearby RTO office.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by hema4saran

Yes. This is possible in TN. You can pay the road tax for your car and obtain a NOC from the RTO. But it all depends on the age of the car and how long you are planning to retain the car and also stay in TN.

Just check in the nearby RTO office.

Paying the road tax does not require a NOC. You can pay the road tax (pro rata lifetime tax, in most states) and drive your other state registered vehicle without any issues.

If you want to get your previous state's tax refunded you need to

1. Get NOC from previous state RTO where your car is registered
2. Get local RC and local state number plate in the state you move to after paying tax - complicated process
3. Go through an even more complicated process to get tax you paid the previous state refunded to you.

Read previous posts in the thread.

[srishiva]

Even the 1.5 lakh is an addition to Puducherry's coffers

So, what will happen now ? They will try to plug this. The people including govt servants who made money through all this and who may have committed a crime will not be punished at all. Is it just a loophole if you are declaring a wrong permanent address willfully to cause fraud to your state's coffers ?

[hserus]

For evading road tax by registering an expensive vehicle in Pondicherry with a false address.

If convicted he will lose his Rajya Sabha seat.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article...-evasion-72513

[Thermodynamics]

It is an open secret, in fact lawyers facilitate. It cannot be stopped unless the first level of scrutiny is effectively done by Pondicherry Government. But this would decrease their income.

I wonder, Pondicherry with ulta low taxes on vehicles and fuel has beautiful roads as compared to exorbitant Karnataka/Bangalore that boasts beautiful moon scapes. Sorry for going off topic I couldn't stop saying this, driving in Bangalore is like playing "Super Mario", you should know to Jump, duck, nudge, negotiate. All obstacles come as surprise, one miss and you are grounded, killer craters.

[greenhorn]

the beautiful pondy roads are inside pondy city only. try driving further south, and you'll find some pretty crappy roads

[sparky@home]

Kerala government has come down heavily on this particular issue, and there are other cine actors and quite a few business men involved. They are paying the tax amount, but the fact remains that they did try and defraud the government of its tax. Infact i think quite a few vehicles are running on "PY" registry in Tamil Nadu also.

[Durango Dude]

If there's a criminal case, it's got to be made against the Govt, for aiding and abetting with artificial "low tax islands" within the country called Union Territories. Give me one good reason why a small town has been made an UT, (just because it was a French colony). I think these should be assimilated in the States they exist in and make one uniform tax for the whole country. I wouldn't blame inidividuals but the Govt for all this fracas and so called scam. Why not go the Goa way and give them statehood and strip this UT status and the low tax that come associated with it. This is the norm all over the world when you make big bucks you hide them in secure 'Low Tax' havens.