[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by techspark

Sorry to bump an old thread. I am currently planning to buy an Audi Q2 in Bombay and the dealer is asking me to go for Daman registration as that will help me save a few lakhs (around 4 lakhs more since it’s a CBU). All the process will be handled by the dealer. I want to know is this safe to do? The car will be driven in Mumbai most times and there will be occasional long trips to Pune, Daman etc. I do have relatives who have business / house in Daman but I do not have anything myself in Daman. Please advise if I should go ahead with this. Will cops pull me over every time and harrass me if they see an outstation car in Bombay?

Go right ahead, make sure you have the necessary groundwork to keep our legal. You have no obligation to increase your tax burden. I don't know what's going through people's minds when they think road taxes actually pay for infrastructure, they don't, that's why you have to pay tolls and parking everywhere. The obligation is to meet legal requirements, not some convoluted fair play that the government doesn't engage in. Some people are plain jealous that you can get a car for less money.

The state doesn't refund taxes if you sell the car out of state, if that process is OK with one party, the other side should have an option to avoid being victimized. It's amazing people think their taxes are used to fund development, that's funded through debt. Your taxes go to fund the bureaucracy and interest on debt, tolls have been renamed to user development fees as tolls agreed illegal.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Go right ahead, make sure you have the necessary groundwork to keep our legal. You have no obligation to increase your tax burden.

Well said, lowering tax bill is what every corporation on earth does. Don't know why people react as if the person is committing a crime if an individual does it.

The high taxes only go to overpaid bureaucrats pockets who then go on to take big bribes anyway. Better to spend the money saved oneself or donate to charity if necessary.

Just looked up taxes in Daman and they are mouth watering at 2.5%. Even if you get caught and made to pay MH taxes down the line , you will have to only pay a tax on depreciated amount which means it will be profitable net net. Plus, tax you will pay in Daman will be partially refunded if you re - register in MH.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by techspark

... Please advise if I should go ahead with this. Will cops pull me over every time and harrass me if they see an outstation car in Bombay?

The legal aspect has already been mentioned, and it understandably divides opinion based on what value (or not) one sees in return for taxes paid. I have nothing to add.

What you need to consider though, is how much you value your peace of mind, whether the nagging feeling every time you cross a checkpoint, or the time wasted when stopped occoasionally (esp. with family in tow or in a situation when time is of the essence), are worth what you save upfront.

Everyone has an opinion, but you'll be the one driving the car for 8-10 years. Is 4L in today's money worth the peace of mind you'll trade it for over the ownership period? Only you can decide.

[hserus]

Not commenting on the ill informed whatsapp forward type parts of the post about tax money being only swallowed by bureaucrats, practically what will happen is that at the very least, you will wind up paying full tax on the original invoice value plus a 150% or higher penalty.

You can also have forgery and other criminal cases slapped on you, in which case, like this Malayalam actor you will do the rounds of the courts for a few years after the incident.

He was caught in 2019 for having registered two Audis with a fake Pondicherry address and used them in Kerala, and was charge sheeted besides being fined. As the original Pondicherry registration was cancelled, he didn’t get a paisa of the road tax he paid them back.

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...rala-1.5416578

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

The high taxes only go to overpaid bureaucrats pockets who then go on to take big bribes anyway. Better to spend the money saved oneself or donate to charity if necessary.

Just looked up taxes in Daman and they are mouth watering at 2.5%. Even if you get caught and made to pay MH taxes down the line , you will have to only pay a tax on depreciated amount which means it will be profitable net net. Plus, tax you will pay in Daman will be partially refunded if you re - register in MH.

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by hserus

You can also have forgery and other criminal cases slapped on you, in which case, like this Malayalam actor you will do the rounds of the courts for a few years after the incident.

Cases were filed because he refused to pay up the tax when he was caught. No RTO is going to go after you wasting their time and effort if you are willing to pay up.

Second, this was the result of a sting operation that involved 30 different cars. You don't get to hear about the rest because they paid up immediately. The vast numbers of PY cars which roam around in TN paid up TN road tax and many still roam around with PY plates.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

The vast numbers of PY cars which roam around in TN paid up TN road tax and many still roam around with PY plates.

Once you pay TN road tax you will get an RC with your original PY or other out of state number. That is fine, you paid TN tax and got a local RC.

The process to apply for converting your vehicle to a TN number is separate.

Until you get the TN number you won’t be able to get the out of state road tax that you originally paid refunded.

Very few know this and the RTO obviously doesn’t advertise it or even have forms or documented procedure for it. Application gets made on a plain white sheet for road tax refund.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by hserus

Not commenting on the ill informed whatsapp forward type parts of the post about tax money being only swallowed by bureaucrats, practically what will happen is that at the very least, you will wind up paying full tax on the original invoice value plus a 150% or higher penalty.

You can also have forgery and other criminal cases slapped on you, in which case, like this Malayalam actor you will do the rounds of the courts for a few years after the incident.

He was caught in 2019 for having registered two Audis with a fake Pondicherry address and used them in Kerala, and was charge sheeted besides being fined. As the original Pondicherry registration was cancelled, he didn’t get a paisa of the road tax he paid them back.

https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news...rala-1.5416578

Really, the I'll informed part of your ignorance about how the state machinery operates.

He registered the car in the hostel address of a college student, basically lazy fraud that will cause trouble. Plenty of people have registered business/partnership operations in Pondicherry, they're also targeted. The reason he was caught is because of his political affiliation, we won't discuss that here, but low tax regimes are business friendly and they attract outside investment and spending.

The fundamental thing about this thread is that people simply don't understand the dangers of giving law enforcement unaccountable power. I hope your attitude extends to discounts, you pay less, business earns less so lower taxes overall, the tax department decides that you pay the discount you got with interest. The business can meet their tax obligation without a sweat and you get to contribute to nation building and as an added priceless bonus feel patriotic.

These drives basically target parents of young couples who come to take care of the kids and have a car registered elsewhere. Envy is the only reason you have to justify this action, as if out of state registration is the primary catastrophe facing these urban areas.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Plenty of people have registered business/partnership operations in Pondicherry, they're also targeted..

Simple enough - if you can prove you have such a connection to Pondicherry or Daman and the car is primarily based there then fine.

They absolutely can’t levy penalties for you.

What this Audi dealership is suggesting is using a similar bogus address in Daman, provided by a broker for such “tax saving”. Entirely different and just what caught Suresh Gopi. By the way Amala Paul was also caught around the same time, is she affiliated to any political party as well, not sure.

I’m not a member of any party at all and I still had to go through some months of effort to re register a TN Amaze in Karnataka.

[IamNikhil]

Personally think that peace-of-mind trumps everything else. Imagine having to undergo the fear everytime one spots a police barricade. At the end of the day, it's always better to follow the legalities instead of subverting the rules.

Have routinely seen DD/DN, PY, JH cars being stopped by policemen here in Mumbai. Almost all these cars were luxury brands.

P.s. Unless one is a high-flying businessman or politician, it's difficult to flout rules and get away with it every time.

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

Well said, lowering tax bill is what every corporation on earth does. Don't know why people react as if the person is committing a crime if an individual does it.

There is a huge difference between legitimate tax planning and criminal tax evasion. What the Audi dealership was suggesting (creating a fake address for someone with no connection with Daman) is outright criminality. If caught, the car owner would in the worst case go to jail - and the dealer would undoubtedly maintain plausible deniability.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by Hayek

There is a huge difference between legitimate tax planning and criminal tax evasion. What the Audi dealership was suggesting (creating a fake address for someone with no connection with Daman) is outright criminality. If caught, the car owner would in the worst case go to jail - and the dealer would undoubtedly maintain plausible deniability.

Not really, if you judge it by how companies are treated when they get caught, out of court settlements with a slap on the wrist. The dealership is getting a registration from a part of the country where apparently you are not asked to prove anything beyond ability to pay to get a registration that's valid across the country. If you get caught in Mumbai, you will have to pay road tax, because that's how you get roads that you pay toll to use. The legal action can be settled without much of an issue, given how the system operates, finally it's a question of money.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

f you get caught in Mumbai, you will have to pay road tax, because that's how you get roads that you pay toll to use. The legal action can be settled without much of an issue, given how the system operates, finally it's a question of money.

If you are caught in Mumbai you have to pay road tax to re-register the car plus penalty that can go upto 150% of the tax amount.

If you walk into your area RTO and self declare that you have a Daman car you can re register it by just paying the road tax, and not be charged any penalty.

This second one seems to be a much more popular option after the Mumbai transport commissioner started launching periodic drives against high end cars with tax evading number plates.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/57502894.cms

[IamNikhil]

Originally Posted by Hayek

There is a huge difference between legitimate tax planning and criminal tax evasion. What the Audi dealership was suggesting (creating a fake address for someone with no connection with Daman) is outright criminality. If caught, the car owner would in the worst case go to jail - and the dealer would undoubtedly maintain plausible deniability.

Second this entirely. While the dealership will conveniently wash it's hands off incase of any untoward incident, the car owner will be in hot soup. Judging by how the rules are tightening, definitely not advisable. It's unfortunately quite a routine affair though for many dealerships in Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai.

[sidpak]

I agree with the views expressed on legal aspects and the possibility of having to pay penalty if caught,

However, when I see so many cars with out of state registration plying in Mumbai for years altogether I wonder if there is still a push from the authorities to curtail the practice of driving out of state cars in the state,

Has anyone been stopped by the traffic police/ RTO in the recent past for this reason ?

[Sushil Pingua]

Originally Posted by sidpak

I agree with the views expressed on legal aspects and the possibility of having to pay penalty if caught,

However, when I see so many cars with out of state registration plying in Mumbai for years altogether I wonder if there is still a push from the authorities to curtail the practice of driving out of state cars in the state,

Has anyone been stopped by the traffic police/ RTO in the recent past for this reason ?

Dear Brother, I will give you my example of keeping my Jharkhand registered vehicles in Delhi for 6 years. I used to bring my vehicles back to my home state atleast once every year and fill fuel in my home state with the fuel-receipt taken which mentions the date and vehicle number.
So the motor vehicle rule somewhat says that the car registered outside must continuously be plying in Delhi for over an year to be considered a violation. BUT my vehicle in the past one year has visited its home state and proof is the fuel receipt.

So this is the way vehicles registered outside continue to ply in your Mumbai for years.