[vnabhi]

Guys
A question on perquisite tax when an employee quits his job before the lease period ends:

A friend has put in his papers and is getting his relieving order in Sep end. He had a 4-year lease for his Beat tdci, out of which he has completed 3. His monthly installment was around 15800, and he's been asked to pay around 2.2 lacs for foreclosure, including VAT. But someone from HR also advised him to get the car ownership transferred in the name of a cousin or friend with a different address, in order to avoid perquisite tax.

He is in a dilemma now, as he does not know how much the perquisite tax will work out to be. He was given a ballpark figure of 55 K, though he is not sure. Is there any such tax to be paid if the car is transferred to to his name, or to his spouse? If yes, how is the amount calculated? The lease in question is a Financial lease and not an Operating lease that most companies offer. In short, the residual value is only around 6000 rupees at the end of the lease period.

[dhruvritzed]

Hello everyone,a thing that really amazes me is how would car lease plans work out in India,I know mercedes has gone about it and failed,many startups have also gone the same way,so bhp'ians response is what I really desire.
How about a 5year leased swift or a scorpio or a honda city,straight by the company?
You don't pay for the maintenance,only premium insurance and how would the government and manufacturers react??
All responses would be appreciated
Thank you
Dhruv Budhiraja
Nuts over BHP

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by kumaranna

My two cents on car lease.

I need some expert advice.

The organization I recently joined offers car on lease, when inquired I was told that I just need to submit a proforma invoice and fund will be released for initiating purchase. While EMI is calculated 14% of interest rate will be considered and I need to pay the outstanding amount (inclusive of interest) if I decide to separate from organization during the lease period. At the end of the lease term, company will offer NOC and I need to get ownership transferred to me.

I see that the EMI will reduce taxable income and offer benefits of fuel, maintenance expenses, driver wages through FBP.
However in comparison to bank loan (@9.85 ROI),for an amount of 9 Lakhs I end up paying 64 thousand more in interest for a tenure of 3 years.

So in order to break even, overall tax benefits alone must be at least 1800 rupees per month!

How do i choose between these two, is there something more to it than what meets the eye?

[PADAS]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

I need some expert advice.

The organization I recently joined offers car on lease, when inquired I was told that I just need to submit a proforma invoice and fund will be released for initiating purchase. While EMI is calculated 14% of interest rate will be considered and I need to pay the outstanding amount (inclusive of interest) if I decide to separate from organization during the lease period. At the end of the lease term, company will offer NOC and I need to get ownership transferred to me.

I see that the EMI will reduce taxable income and offer benefits of fuel, maintenance expenses, driver wages through FBP.
However in comparison to bank loan (@9.85 ROI),for an amount of 9 Lakhs I end up paying 64 thousand more in interest for a tenure of 3 years.

So in order to break even, overall tax benefits alone must be at least 1800 rupees per month!

How do i choose between these two, is there something more to it than what meets the eye?

Pros:
- Tax saved per month - ~30% of the EMI [Assuming you fall in the top tax slab]
- Fuel/Service cost/maintenance cost reimbursement. If within FBP, this too will yield some IT savings.
- Usually in car lease, companies bear the cost of registration/yearly insurance.
- Other frills like special offers from insurance companies for corporates, etc (like free towing, etc). Some companies reimburse accessories cost as well.

Cons:
- Higher interest rates
- Usually there is a VAT+ST on the monthly lease amount
- Scrap value to be paid at the end of lease (in % of purchase value. Can vary based on company policy)
- Terms of exit. Might prove costly if you exit early (within few months of lease) . Few companies may recover the registration / insurance costs prorated.
- Resale value - You become second owner if you transfer it at end of lease (though you have used the car all along). Any further sale makes it third owner. But you always have an option to sell it at end of lease and transfer to new owner instead of transferring to you.

In my computations, I have always found car lease making sense from a total cost of ownership point if you plan to stick with lease for more than a year.

Hope this helps !

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by PADAS

Hope this helps !

Thank you so much.
You provided some new insights which I was unaware of. Can you please elaborate scrap value payment ? At the end of the period since ownership is anyway transferred , is scrap value way of making money , as throughout the deal rules expect commitment of taking ownership anyways.

[PADAS]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Thank you so much.
You provided some new insights which I was unaware of. Can you please elaborate scrap value payment ? At the end of the period since ownership is anyway transferred , is scrap value way of making money , as throughout the deal rules expect commitment of taking ownership anyways.

I believe thats an accounting thing. Technically the car is company's asset and you are just using it. So for the company, its a sale /transfer of its asset at the end of lease term and there should be a value in the books. I have seen this value varying from 1% to 15% depending on company policy. So you may want to check on this with your HR for details.

[quadmaniac]

Hi experts,
I am looking to lease my next car, and Orix is one of the possible lease companies. Upon seeing https://www.orixindia.com/salesandlease.aspx one thing grabbed my attention:

"Automatic Transfers – We offer a unique facility to transfer your company car lease to your individual capacity in case of separation from your employer. This facility enables you to save cash by not opting for the foreclosure option and give you the flexibility to continue the lease in your individual name for the balance period."

Does anyone have any idea about this? What's the catch here?

[drsingh]

Has anybody made use of Maruti's N2N lease option for Corporate /self employed users?

I'm unable to find any cost estimate or review of the service online.

Requesting forum members to share their experience/knowledge regarding the same.

Or any information regarding any other way to lease vehicles of any manufacturer in India for self employed individuals.

Thanks.

[hrishig]

There is a problem. The lease companies are not giving the residual value in writing. So at the end of the tenure if you want to purchase the car on your name the leasing company will decide the car price. So if you buy innova / swift with lease you may have to pay more compared to jetta/ punto at the end of three years if you want to purchase the same car though you have already paid principle + interest of almost same amount. Anybody else facing such problem?

[dmplog]

I am looking for an advice on Car Lease. Recent change in policy at my work means that I, now, can get a car under company's Car Lease scheme. Now, I own a 3.5 year old Punto Emotion Diesel. I like this car a lot!
Although I was not planning to buy a new car, this change in circumstances mean, a car buying 'keeda' is beginning to make some noise in my head!
Some research and browsing on TBHP got me hooked on to S-Cross 320 (1.6L Diesel).
Now, I am looking for some guidance / advice from fellow bhpians on how to proceed! I know this is a stupid question. But, your advice could also be - don't be a fool and keep driving Punto. But, some proper advice would be very valuable to sort out 'locha' in my head!
Please help!!

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by hrishig

There is a problem. The lease companies are not giving the residual value in writing. So at the end of the tenure if you want to purchase the car on your name the leasing company will decide the car price. So if you buy innova / swift with lease you may have to pay more compared to jetta/ punto at the end of three years if you want to purchase the same car though you have already paid principle + interest of almost same amount. Anybody else facing such problem?

True. Lease companies would not produce any residual value in writing(this scheme is called Market Value). But on rough estimate, expect about 55% of the car value or so after 3 years. Best solution in this case would be to let go of the car after 3 years.

Here in my company, a leasing company is providing a new scheme - Fixed Residual Value - but it costs a bomb. The ratio they keep is 65:35 - that is after 3 years, you'll have to pay 35% of ex-showroom cost. (this is in writing)

Following is the quote/price breakup for a Celerio ZXI AMT -

Ex-showroom Price - 510,160
Discount - 28,000.00
Net Price - 4,82,160
Insurance - 14,788
Road Tax - 27,833

Rental on Base Price - 11209.04
Security Deposit: 0.00
Down Payment: 0.00
Fleet Mgmt Services - 4458
Vat / Lease Tax - 1471
Service Tax - 646
Total Lease Rental - 17785

So after three years, you'll pay -
17785 * 36 = 6,40,206
35% of Showroom Cost = 178556
So total payout = 640206 + 178556 = 8,18,762 !!!

An extra 3Lacs+ !
Pay to government in form of taxes ( and assume that a streetlight on next flyover belongs to you) or payout in terms of EMI

[hrishig]

Well said. The other type of lease ( finance lease ?) was boon , but haven't seen that recently in any company. It was offered by GE finance and was best for employees.

[samabhi]

Originally Posted by hrishig

There is a problem. The lease companies are not giving the residual value in writing. So at the end of the tenure if you want to purchase the car on your name the leasing company will decide the car price. So if you buy innova / swift with lease you may have to pay more compared to jetta/ punto at the end of three years if you want to purchase the same car though you have already paid principle + interest of almost same amount. Anybody else facing such problem?

The leasing firm that my company is tied up with has a fixed residual value. Employee has to choose either 1% or 10% initially and only need to pay this amount at the end of the leasing period. Add to it, the monthly rentals change as per the RV selected.

[aptiwa]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

True. Lease companies would not produce any residual value in writing(this scheme is called Market Value). But on rough estimate, expect about 55% of the car value or so after 3 years. Best solution in this case would be to let go of the car after 3 years.

Here in my company, a leasing company is providing a new scheme - Fixed Residual Value - but it costs a bomb. The ratio they keep is 65:35 - that is after 3 years, you'll have to pay 35% of ex-showroom cost. (this is in writing)

Following is the quote/price breakup for a Celerio ZXI AMT -

Ex-showroom Price - 510,160
Discount - 28,000.00
Net Price - 4,82,160
Insurance - 14,788
Road Tax - 27,833

Rental on Base Price - 11209.04
Security Deposit: 0.00
Down Payment: 0.00
Fleet Mgmt Services - 4458
Vat / Lease Tax - 1471
Service Tax - 646
Total Lease Rental - 17785

So after three years, you'll pay -
17785 * 36 = 6,40,206
35% of Showroom Cost = 178556
So total payout = 640206 + 178556 = 8,18,762 !!!

An extra 3Lacs+ !
Pay to government in form of taxes ( and assume that a streetlight on next flyover belongs to you) or payout in terms of EMI

Looks like a damn good deal to me!

You're missing out on a couple of points
1. You save tax on the lease rental. If you're in the 30% tax bracket, you stand to save close to 2 lakhs on the lease rental. If the company plan includes fuel and driver salary as part of the plan, you save tax on that as well. Considering a monthly fuel+driver cost of 20k, you save another 2 lakhs in taxes over the period.
2. Zero downpayment. You would have paid say 1 lakh as downpayment on the car. You can invest it for the 36 months and earn a handsome sum for accessorising at the end of the lease.
3. Zero insurance premium. Should be worth another 30k of cash saved.

Also, I'm sure the 3 year old Celerio would be worth more than 35% in the used car market so you could pre-source a buyer instead of buying the car for yourself at the end of the lease.

[DCEite]

Dear all

I have corporate car lease from my employer which is served by a leading car leasing company.

My lease is due to expire in couple of months.

Someone from my circle suggested me a third alternative after the lease period is over and it sounded quite logical.

He suggests after lease period is over, after paying the residual value to the leasing company, i sell(or rather facilitate to sell) the car directly to a third party - example, a used car dealer or Maruti True value. As per him, its perfectly possible to transfer the car ownership directly to a third party - rather then the ownership being first transferred to me first(after paying residual value to lease company) and then i sell it to third party later (pls note the car is currently registered on my employer name).

My question is

1) Is this scenario really possible in first place? Can the car be transferred from my employer to a third party after lease period is over ?
2) In this case, i get market value of the car minus the residual value. And if i sell it to Maruti True value, then i can also avail exchange bonus on my next car - which probably would be a company leased car as well?

The deal sounds to good to be true actually. Considering the tax benefits (eve with perquisite tax) if i add up all the EMIs i will pay - it sums up to be lesser than the on road cost itself - and i i am selling directly to third party or to the leasing company itself - the deal sounds even more beneficial.

Opinions please?