[clevermax]

It is not just Suresh Gopi. Many other actors, businessmen and others in the affluent category do this. Actor Fahad Fazil also was found doing the same crime. I know one of my ex-neighbor did this when he bought an Audi A3. The count will be 'too many'.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by clevermax

It is not just Suresh Gopi. Many other actors, businessmen and others in the affluent category do this. Actor Fahad Fazil also was found doing the same crime. I know one of my ex-neighbor did this when he bought an Audi A3. The count will be 'too many'.

Amala Paul as well. And anyone at all who buys a car that is 20 lakh ++

This is becoming an inter state issue at high levels (eg: Chandrababu Naidu of AP has approached Pondicherry as well at the Governor level, reaching out to Kiran Bedi).

This is a bonanza for the police and RTOs. There will be plenty of additional revenue flowing into the state coffers, and quite possibly into the pockets of various officials in the police and RTO who agree not to register criminal cases, or quietly manage re-registration.

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

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.

Many states in the North East have extremely low road tax as well (Sikkim, Nagaland etc). Nothing to do with state or union territory, it depends on what the local government wants to charge.

[greenhorn]

I am not sure there will be any real change because of this. There are plenty of loopholes to still do this legally, and the cops can't close all of them

[govigov]

While I understand where the state government is coming from, i.e they are being robbed of the road tax that is rightfully theirs, they can legally use a car from any state in India in any other state for a temporary period. The question that should be asked to the MP is whether it is morally correct to use such a practice?

If the car goes out of the state regularly, there is no legal way to challenge this. (As far as I know).
The only illegal portion I see as reported is the usage of a fake address, which is a big deal.
Such tax havens are common in the United States as well. You can see that lots of exotic super cars bearing Montana plates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDxoHdqnfRU

Here is another story -

https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/...-plates-256721

[ecenandu]

Campaign against the PY registered cars and the flip side.

Based on a private TV channel’s report, Kerala MVD is on a door-to-door hunt searching for PY registered car owners that sounds similar to the Herod’s order for a house-to-house hunt to kill Jesus.

While I don’t agree with the people who use fake address to register their cars in Pondicherry I would like to state the owner’s perspective and their motives to register their expensive cars in PY. Before that I would like to highlight the Kerala transport commissioner who sent a letter to his counterpart in PY seeking information on the cars that are registered there sighting “national security issue”. I am very interested to know if these car owners are infiltrators from Pakistan or do they belong to any terrorist organization? In my opinion one who travels between states and register their cars in PY with legitimate address and valid documentation to support is more of an opportunity driven by the system and how can we call that tax evasion. I will take one core car as a benchmark to mention my points here.

a) If this car were registered in Kerala the road tax would be 20 lakhs and only one lakh in Puthucherry. When it comes for a re-sale after 2 or 3 years the market would be pan India and most likely someone from a state other than Kerala would be the most likely buyer and that puts the Kerala registered car under a 19 lakhs disadvantage over a PY registered car, which are plentiful in India.

b) Why would someone pay 20 lakhs road tax in Kerala when he already paid 70 lakhs for the car as taxes (CBU @ 247%) which are shared between the central and the state, that too when he has the option of spending one lakh and registering in PY that is part of India?

c) These cars are generally gas-guzzlers and the owner is still paying 55% tax on fuel that is again shared between the centre and the state.

d) Why to pay road tax when there are no roads for these vehicles to ply without causing damage to the car and its passengers.

e) If arresting revenue leakage is the concern then why not plug the losses made by the politicians and the bureaucrats? Recently there were reports of a millionaire minister received 2 crores from the sate for his treatment done abroad.

This debate will open a can of worms! The media that has initiated this drive, can they ensure our roads are restored by the govt? Can they control the errant bus drivers who kill hundreds of people on road due to their arrogance? Can they stop the forced Kerala hartals that bring in crores and crores of rupee loss to the state?

An individual or a company that has legitimate address and who travels between the states often will continue to register their cars in PY and nothing will stop them. I am personally of the opinion that it is not wrong, after all these are Indian roads and it is every citizen’s right to cross boarders. I have the following suggestions to make,

1) There should only be an India number plate rather than a state plate and have one uniform tax system. This is easily possible if we can implement the more complex GST.

2) Kerala should reduce the tax from 20% to 10% encouraging all the people including the ones from other states to register their cars here in Kerala. After all these expensive cars are often seen in garages than on roads.

3) Kerala should introduce yearly tax and not collect 15 years on the go when there is no guarantee that the owner of the vehicle or the vehicle will last those 15 years on our roads.

Source

I think he has registered his cars using genuine documents, no problem there. I think that is tax avoidance and not evasion. Rest of the points(a - e) .

[invidious]

About 10 years ago, a friend's Honda Accord was "impounded" while his driver was driving - they made the driver and the lady passenger get out and impounded the car in Bombay for having Daman number plates. Even after telling the cops they had a factory in Daman - the traffic cops refused to release the car. He went to the appropriate court - showed the documents, lawyer argued that this infringed on citizen's right to freedom of movement - police not only had to return the car, but also had to pay some token damage (I don't remember the amount).

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

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.

Well said. These whole Union Territory nonsense is a legacy nonsense left behind from the Colonial days. Hopefully the current central govt will overturn this nonsense and either make them independent states or assimilate them into existing states. This low tax loophole must be closed.

Originally Posted by govigov

The only illegal portion I see as reported is the usage of a fake address, which is a big deal.

If one has a legitimate address in Pondichery either personal or business, one can easily get any action by the police/RTO prevented or stayed in courts. The main issue here is the use of fictitious address provided by touts with the connivance of Pondy RTO authorities. This is definitely a criminal offense of all involved.

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Rest of the points(a - e) .

True dat. This is obviously some news article paid for by someone who probably has a PY registered Rolls Royce. Most of the issues he is talking about is relevant to people with local registrations as well. Yes, the state gives is no infrastructure for the taxes we pay, but does that allow one to commit forgery?

Originally Posted by invidious

Even after telling the cops they had a factory in Daman - the traffic cops refused to release the car.

The nature of our cops and authorities is to harass as they are mostly above the law. But eventually genuine cases of PY and other UT registration's will have to be argued at the RTO/Police Station/Courts.

[coron]

Kerala budget just passed amnesty to PY registered cars - Not sure how they are going to calculate and collect the road tax from these individuals - Based on what calculation??

Well I guess crime doesn't pay in the end

http://www.newindianexpress.com/stat...s-1767306.html

[srishiva]

Recently Kannada actor Darshan bought a lambo. Now if he is allowed to keep the PY registration for 1 year and if he sells it before that, isnt that evasion ? willful and taking advantage ? Since everyone knows he is not a resident of PY, what should be the actual rule here ? Why allow even 1 year ? I am almost 100% sure he is not going to drive it in PY ever

Theoretically, you can only solve it by having the car record where you were and tax based on usage of roads according to that !

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Recently Kannada actor Darshan bought a lambo. Now if he is allowed to keep the PY registration for 1 year and if he sells it before that, isnt that evasion ?

The one year rule is when you shift from one state to another in which case you need to re-register the vehicle after a year. It is not for new cars brought from outside the state.

[Arjun Reddy]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Recently Kannada actor Darshan bought a lambo. Now if he is allowed to keep the PY registration for 1 year and if he sells it before that, isnt that evasion ? willful and taking advantage ? Since everyone knows he is not a resident of PY, what should be the actual rule here ? Why allow even 1 year ? I am almost 100% sure he is not going to drive it in PY ever

Theoretically, you can only solve it by having the car record where you were and tax based on usage of roads according to that !

Correct, as far I am concerned the KA tax needs to be paid immediately on this. This cannot be treated as a movement of residence. It is high time we have a One nation One tax structure for all types of taxes. GST is a movement in the right direction, only if we can add all taxes into that basket.

[rki2007]

What is the law in this regard. Can someone summarise as to how many months law permits anyone to drive a different state registered car to be driven in another state.

What is the scenario with Bikes? Do cops really track this as well?

[manduvindupondu]

Originally Posted by rki2007

What is the law in this regard. Can someone summarise as to how many months law permits anyone to drive a different state registered car to be driven in another state.

What is the scenario with Bikes? Do cops really track this as well?

11 months . You can ply out if state vehicle for 11 months. After that, you have to pay road tax.
If the stay is longer , you can opt for RC change just to avoid cops stopping you.

Or paste a sticker after 11 months saying road tax paid. Of course, after paying road tax.