Ferrari, Porsche And Other Luxury Cars Seized By Bengaluru Transport Department For Road Tax Evasion

The number of expensive and exotic cars in India has gone up considerably in the last couple of decades. With the rise in these numbers, the transport department of various states keeps an eye on the roads to ensure that every car plying on Indian roads is legal. They conduct drives to check papers and ensure that all these vehicles have paid the required taxes. In one such drive recently conducted by the Bengaluru transport department, around 30 expensive cars, including sports cars, were seized over tax evasion.

The operation was conducted in Bengaluru by a team of 41 officials, led by Transport Deputy Commissioner C. Mallikarjun. As per the reports available online, the officers have seized around 30 expensive cars, including brands like Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Aston Martin, Land Rover, and many more.

The transport department claims that these expensive cars were plying on the roads without paying taxes. The officers have already sent notices to the owners to recover the tax amount. Talking to the media, a senior officer said, “These cars were being driven in the state without paying the required taxes. A notice has been issued to recover approximately Rs. 3 crore in taxes from the seized vehicles.”

Karnataka is one of the states with the highest road tax in the country. Just like any state government, Karnataka also decides the road tax of a vehicle based on engine capacity, seating capacity, fuel type, dimensions, cost, and kerb weight. The rates for private and commercial vehicles are different too.

Based on its cost and age, a four-wheeler will have a tax anywhere between 13 percent and 93 percent. In the case of an electric vehicle (car), the tax is only 4 percent. The Karnataka government has also introduced an additional cess on newly registered vehicles. As per this new circular, newly registered two-wheelers have to pay Rs. 500, and cars have to pay Rs. 1,000 as cess at the time of registration.

This is not the first time we have seen such a move against expensive car owners. Bengaluru is also one of those cities with a large population of expensive and exotic cars.

There are several billionaire businessmen in the city with expensive cars in their garages. Some of them even import expensive cars from Dubai via Carnet, as it is much cheaper than buying the same car in India.

This is not something that happens only in Bengaluru. Last year in Kerala, the Motor Vehicle Department issued a fine against a Rolls-Royce Ghost for tax evasion. The Motor Vehicle Department officers issued a whopping Rs. 12 lakh fine against the vehicle. The car was owned by a car rental company in Kochi and was caught by the cops in Malappuram.

The Rolls-Royce was registered under a fake address in Pondicherry. This was intentionally done to avoid paying tax in Kerala. We have not come across any popular names in the Bengaluru case yet. However, there have been instances in the past where movie stars from different parts of the country have also found themselves in trouble for evading taxes on their luxury cars.