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-   -   Karnataka Road Tax, Crack down announced.EDIT: High Court Judgement on Pg 36 attached (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/50465-karnataka-road-tax-crack-down-announced-edit-high-court-judgement-pg-36-attached-26.html)

agree:. Let the RTO not be under a wrong impression that only Bangalore has non KA registered vehicles and they can make their moolah out of them. I Keep driving to Pune in a KA registered car on temporary basis and last time I was there for over 6 months and though I was stopped thrice, they checked for all the documents and when asked for Maharastra Road Tax, I told them that I was here only for 6 months and they allowed me to carry on without a fuss.
Second time I was stopped, they never asked for MH Road tax but insisted on a PUC (Emission to many). I showed them the Karnataka Emission Certificate which was valid and they let me go.
Third time, the cops just checked my licence and let me go.
All these at 3 different places in Pune which also has a considerable migrant population much before the IT boom itself.

Now the best part:

I am back to Bangalore since Feb and once when I was stopped "casually" by cops near KR Puram Bridge, I showed them all the documents. Since I was in Pune, after my KA Emission expired, I got a MH Emission done and showed him the same for which the "Supercop" tells me that it wont do any good and insisted on a KA Emission certificate or pay the fine. A simple question of how it makes a difference as it is just a certificate which indicates the level of emission, the cop just raises his arm and asks me to pay the fine. I don't protest and rather ask the cop to write on the challan that "I produced a valid Maharastra Emission certificate" and I am ready to pay up. The cop says he'll send the notice and I can carry on. I am still waiting for the notice!!

Yes, I am driving my KA51 here in Trivandrum for the past 1.5 years almost. Have had no issues with the registration so far. Been stopped couple of times for normal seat-belt checking etc, but they seemed to ignore the registration. Once I pulled over right in front of police to answer a phone call. I talked for few minutes and then drove off, no issues.

Once I was booked for wrong parking, came back to the car to see the yellow sticker on the side glass. The cop was standing very near, so I went to him and paid the fine there itself. He asked me where my car is registered, for which I answered Bangalore, end of conversation. :)

anyone got contacts in TOI ??

These traffic cops are a menace in Bangalore. They try to fleece the public for money. When you raise a voice, they will let you go, if somebody is not ready to raise a voice, then they would shamelessly ask money.

How I wish the Tamil Movie "Indian" sort of thing happens to these cops :deadhorse

You should write a complaint to ACP (traffic) regarding this incident. The ACP has strictly instructed traffic cops not to casually stop vehicles for checking papers unless the vehicle is found violating a traffic rule. One traffic sub-inspector was suspended for the same reason. :thumbs up

Maharashtra PUC not valid in Karnataka - Height of corruption. :Frustrati

Rohan

Actually I must. Once I had written to RTO, Bangalore North regarding how way back in 2005 the officials behind the windows insisted me to pay for a card type licence (not the latest one with that chip emdeded) while I preferred a book. He reasoned out that books were out of stock and I can only go for card (of course, with that additional cost). I paid and then sent an email regarding this and got a response after 3 weeks that "we have enquired about this incident and found out that no one from our department had told you that books are out of stock". Now, What the He!! am I supposed to do? And how on earth they found out that this never happened?

OT, but I had also written to KSRTC/BMTC asking them if they ever trained their drivers to park at designated bus stops or get into the left lane much before stopping and proper ways to overtake on a two laned highway and I never got a response.

I had written to Volvo India on non functional brake lamps of B7Rs in most of BMTC's fleet and someone from Volvo actually called me and promised me to check and revert (They never got back to me though but glad they called).

I can understand that complaints are not always addressed properly, especially in government offices. :Frustrati

But I am an optimist. I believe in doing my part (writing a complaint) and leave the rest to the authority concerned.

You may not come to know that some action has been taken, but the concerned officer would definitely be given a warning. In case of repeat offenses by the same officer, the authority would be compelled to take action. :thumbs up

Rohan

Hi,

I have an AP regd 2 wheeler which I have been driving in Bangalore for last 3-4 years. # years ago, I paid the Road tax in Bangalore but did not change the Regn number to KA.
Since then, I have never been questioned on my AP regn. However, I am planning to move back to Hyderabad and want to know what the procedure would be to get my Road tax refund from Bangalore

No refund - unless you re-register at Bangalore first. But you should have re-registered within 12 months of paying the tax in the first place - you did not, so there will be a penalty for that as well!:D Just take it to A.P. quietly and forget the whole thing!

I paid the life tax at Bangalore for my TN registered Splendor and used it for five years before shifting back to TN! And that is what I did too!

I agree to Ganesan here, If it is a 2-wheeler, i dont think that the Road Tax paid by you would be a high amount to take all the trouble in getting a refund, also, based on the time you have already spent in Bangalore, the RTO would deduct tax and then you might end up paying bribe, fees, NOC charges, etc. you might be left with only a Measly amount after taking all this trouble.

Although, yes, you would be a highly satisfied soul post succesful refund of your Road Tax in getting some type of refund from the govt.

Carmakers Ask for Uniformity of Taxes Across All States


Indian auto market suffers from diversity of taxes in different states. This diversity prevents auto makers and customers to fully benefit from central sops like duty cuts, etc. For example, the excise duty on automobiles has been reduced from 16 percent to 10 percent which was earlier rolled back even to 8 percent considering poor economic conditions in 2008. Even though duty has fallen from 16 percent, nevertheless, other charges such as sales tax, road tax, entry tax, hypothecation fees, etc. has led to an increase in car prices.
Moreover, rising inputs costs as well as new emission norms have further escalated car prices. Auto industry has proposed to the government to have uniformity of taxes across the country as there is huge difference in local taxes charged by various states in India.
“Every time the Centre cuts excise duties, state governments hike road tax or registration tax,” said a senior executive at a top small car company. This eventually leads ownership of automobiles expensive for the customers prevent sales growth. Sales tax in various states varies from 12.5 percent to 15 percent while registration fee has escalated from 4 percent to up to 7-8 percent. Tamil Nadu tops the list with its road tax being levied up to whopping 17 percent. Apart from the road tax, entry tax and hypothecation fee also adds to the cost.
Thus, car makers are asking the government to levy uniform tax across the country to make car ownership an easier and more manageable for the customers which help the auto industry to post healthy sales growth as well.

Source : Cartradeindia.com

and we hope they listen this time :Frustrati

I think the whole situation is similar to when you go to buy a new/used car. The seller tries to exploit your lack of knowledge about the car to get the maximum money out of you (I am not saying they will always try to cheat you). Similarly the cops will try to exploit your ignorance of law to get the maximum money out of you (again not exactly cheating you, because they are issuing you with the receipts).

The best course of action is to know the law. If you are going to stay beyond six months in another state, pay the tax there and follow the procedure of claiming it back from your original state. If you are right and the cop is wrong, politely inform him of the same along with reasons. If anyone still insists on either fining you or seizing the vehicle, know the tricks involved in the same. Such as a plain havaldar or constable is not authorized to seize your vehicle, also they must carry out a panchnama (with two independent witnesses) which will have to list down each and every thing that they are seizing. A novel approach would be to ensure each and every nut and bolt is being recorded there. So learn the law regarding how the panchnama should be done. The moment you start pointing this out to the cop, I am sure he will back off.

The last option is to ask him to send you a notice for the violation of any rules/laws and that your lawyer will then see to it.

If you have to face any penal action such as challan or fine or seizure of the vehicle, insist on recording all the proof or arguments that you have presented to the officer on the challan document. I believe as per the Maharashtra RTO rules the officers have to record the argument of the offender on the back of the challan.

My cousin was caught by a traffic constable in Thane and after some argument the constable decided to seize the scooter my cousin was riding. Later the cousin sent a notice to the RTO alleging they had detained the vehicle unlawfully. On learning that the cousin's father (my uncle) is a lawyer, the constable remarked, "If you had told me on the spot your father is a lawyer, I would have let you go right away." It's the power of knowledge.

Hey guys. The article also came in one of the leading newspapers. that the auto industry is requesting for uniform road tax. We pray that this gets implemented at the earliest

Additionally, to re-iterate again, no cop can stop someone on the roads without any reason, unless they have violated a law.

Bringing this back up again, anyone have any contacts in the press that can put this up in the papers for a few weeks

some links in this regard
Centre to ensure uniform vehicle tax - Yahoo! India News
Centre to ensure uniform vehicle tax
Centre moves to ensure uniform tax on vehicles - Worldnews.com