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Originally Posted by phamilyman This is interesting. Help me understand two things:
a. What is the possibility of paying the bribes occasionally and getting away with it for six months till we figure out our life plans? Last thing we'd want is to do all this silly paperwork and then find out that we need to move back :(
b. What all did you have to do to get the NOC (did you have to bring an invoice with your car's value as Samurai had once mentioned on his jeep thread) and what other steps did you follow? |
In my case, I took my Bangalore registered car to Chennai in Jan 2008.
In the early days, they would catch me as I was leaving work at around 11 pm. I would lie and say I was there on a project for a couple of weeks, and then I would be going back to Bangalore. They bought that, but then started to say they would note down my license plate # and watch how many times I passed by. When this happened, I would leave later from work, take a different route, etc. to avoid them.
Then they wised up and wouldn't buy my story anymore. I knew someone in Bangalore who did RTO work, so I got NOCs through him (he sent me the forms, I filled them out and sent them back, and he returned them to me with the RTO rubber stamp, signatures, etc.). Be warned, though. I was told once an RTO issues an NOC, you are technically no longer attached to them, and
have to go ahead with re-registration at the new RTO. You cannot go back to the RTO that issued the NOCs. If you do, you will be in limbo, no man's land. I'm sorry I can't help more than this with the NOCs because the guy in Bangalore took care of it for me. I never left Chennai, and the car was also in Chennai, only the forms went back and forth.
Waving the NOCs in front of the cops worked for a while, Then they wised up and began to read them. When they saw the NOCs were more than 6 months old, they would get angry.
You can bribe your way out, but it is a harrowing experience. When they stop you, you will also need to have
all the other papers - RC book, insurance certificate, PUC, in
original. One cop told me he could impound my car on the spot since it was out of state and I had only copies in the car (the originals were at home). One has to go to the court to get the car released.
In your case, if you think there is a possibility of coming back to Gurgaon in a few months, you can try this. One cop told me to go to the nearest toll booth and get a receipt. Apparently the receipt entitles one to use the car in Chennai with outstation plates for a length of time (I'm sorry I forgot what it was; 6, perhaps 8 weeks). He told me to do this very few weeks. You cannot enter Chennai by road without paying toll. Depending on where you end up staying, drive out of Chennai past the nearest toll booth, turn around, pay the toll and re-enter Chennai. Save the toll receipt!! The danger is if you always take a particular route everyday going to work, and the same cops hang out there, they will recognize that you've been there several months.
One factor that may work in your favor is if you have DL plates. They are a bit cautious dealing with these, because they don't know if it's somebody powerful from Delhi. Won't work if you have HR or UP plates.
If you do decide to get the plates converted, this is what you'll need.
NOCs from your home RTO.
The original invoice of the car (even if you bought it second hand)
You'll have to pay full TN lifetime tax on the car's original invoice value, plus processing fees.
Don't ever attempt to do this yourself; it's suicidal. Become a member of the Automobile Association of South India (lifetime membership of ~ Rs. 5k). They will handle it for you with the RTO without bribes, etc. and in the fastest possible time frame.
One thing the RTO is a stickler for is address proof. A local BSNL landline bill will suffice, or a Chennai ration card / voter's ID (nightmare to get these). The car was in my wife's name, and our BSNL landline was in my name. The Auto Assoc. finally told us to get an LIC policy in my wife's name. We did that for a small amount, but that was accepted by the RTO as proof of address (this whole address proof nonsense in India is a sham. A knowledgeable person can easily game the system).
Back in 2008, they were more lenient. These days, they station themselves outside big offices (IT parks, for example) around 3 pm and have a merry time catching outstation cars till around 11 pm. Earlier they used to catch outstation cars only at night. Then they started to do it at all times of the day.
India needs to move to a PAN-India status for cars. It is a huge burden and nightmare for the common man to deal with this. These large (IT) companies making money hand-over-fist don't help at all with issues like this, kids' admission to school, etc., and unlike companies in the USA, don't lobby the governments for the betterment of their employees.
Hope this helps.