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-   -   Unauthorized IND plates declared illegal in Tamil Nadu. Crackdown begins (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/160456-unauthorized-ind-plates-declared-illegal-tamil-nadu-crackdown-begins-5.html)

IND number plates bearing TN registration

Applicable only for TN registered vehicles not for vehicles from other states. Still, other state vehicle cannot escape the wrath of TN cops lol:

The move to crackdown HSRP-lookalike plates and other plates that does not stick to the RTO norms is good. However, it is wrong to target vehicles from other states. That simply is a money making exercise. How is someone who is crossing a state expected to change his vehicle's number plate to match the rules of the state?? Does that mean that a vehicle from KA or TN crossing a state with compulsory HSRP can be penalized in that state?? Ridiculous I say.

I cant believe this. I always thought embossed plates are supposed to be fool-proof compared to the plastic and painted ones. I understand the HSRP-lookalike plates with IND marking and / or fake holograms needs to be penalized. But a plain number plate with embossed numbers are also considered illegal?? I cannot believe this.

Below attached is an example of a HSRP in India. This picture demonstrates the various features of a HSRP.

Trichy Traffic Police stopped my car today evening and warned me that a crackdown is imminent in a week's time.

I am not sure how much the guy who stopped me was knowledgeable about the issue, but he said all I needed to do was peel off the IND sticker along with the hologram. I can keep the embossed fake HSRP as it is apparently.

Leave aside the hologram part, the 'fake' IND number plates are atleast having proper font and size which are readable. I would say the honorable court should have first cracked down on fancy number plates and the ones written in regional language.

Zappo, did you receive an invoice or receipt from the RTO like this one?



How about the number plates? Does it have the laser-etched code and was it fixed to the bumpers using rivets (what they refer to as snap-locks)?

To add to this, these embossed plates are having reflective sticker for the fonts making it legible for speed cameras in the night.

I have seen one picture of my neighbor's car where the whole car is unrecognizable as it is black and the surroundings pitch black due to lack of street lighting at night, but the fonts on the number plate alone shining in the flash light of the speed camera. Initially we might think it was fabricated but a closer look showed a mild silhouette of the car and the reflective stickers on the road divider.

Yes... to each of your questions. :)

P.S.: Looking at the HSRP invoice they issued you I realized that here they are charging us double the amount and yet cutting corners! :p

But then the "Legal" HSRP also has IND inscribed on it with Hologram and some 9 Digit Code. Is that not a violation of the MV Act of not having anything on the number Plate ?

Poor People like us will always be robbed of one pretext or the other. No on bothers to control the shops who creates these so called fake number plates. Can RTO not have a list of registered Licensed Plate makers in the city ?

Well no as that will not earn them any extra revenue :Frustrati

What about all the Taxi's and Citi cab's in Tamil Nadu ? All of them have
"all India Permit"
OR
"TN State Permit"

By Law - Nothing other than registration of the Vehicle should be on the number plate. Isn't this also illegal?

The number plates should not have anything written other than the vehicle numbers. These days fancy number plates have really come down. May be politicians still use them. But most vehicle number plates are aligned to the standard plates as much as I can see in Chennai.

I believe the police crackdown is based on the following logic

1. Consider group of vehicles using existing number plates with fake India Stickers and Chakra Holograms. Lets call them Class B. By fake I mean the ones not approved by RTO and not part of HSRP. Let the other group of vehicles which sport number plates other than class B be called class C.
2. Now when HSRP is introduced and which based on today's newspaper report will be soon there will be a new group of cars sporting this new plates (class A)
3. In order to enforce HSRP on all cars the police will anyway have to do a crackdown (after some grace period to move the new plates) . During this crackdown class C will be easy meat while class B might go scot-free because it is not easy to distinguish between all flavors of class B from original class A.
4. So in order to ease the confusion the police are now only cracking down on class B vehicles. They will do so against class C when HSRP is implemented and the grace period for existing cars to move to HSRP expires.

Honestly, they must allow dealers to sell these IND plates only when there's a standard around the country. These dealers force these things down our throat by saying that it'll be "compulsory in 3 months time", "later price will increase" etc.

I saved 800 INR by not getting it for my bike. I had the white board and got the registration number stickered for INR 100.

I think the authorised dealers were informed not to sell such IND number plates. I had a set made for my AStar after re-registering it at Chennai. This was done at Speedex, and when I requested to make it an IND number plate, they flatly refused saying that they are one of the authorised dealers for making it, and they have been informed not to sell them. This was atleast 6-8 months back.

That said, I agree its much more legible and neat compared to the many other number plates we see. I think while checking this, they also need stop the ones which has all the Political parities and Government Dept/organisations written on them.

Are the letters plain / solid black ? or do they have the "INDIA" imprinted at 45 deg ?

How do your plates look like ?

Yesterday, while going back home around 9pm saw more than two vehicles with the HSRP style plates on the Mount Poonamalee road near Porur with the 'IND' logo clearly visible. Not sure if checking within the city is going full swing.

This morning on my way to work, was almost stopped by a cop who thought I had the HSRP style plates but when I came closer he backed off as mine was a regular embossed plate.