Key Points
Major RTO operation targets luxury car tax evasion
Vehicles registered in multiple states illegally driven in Karnataka
Seizure expected to recover approximately Rs 3 crore
High road tax rates motivate tax avoidance
The seizure of luxury cars is done for non-payment of taxes by the owners, an RTO official said on Monday.
The seized vehicles were registered in different states but illegally driven in Karnataka.
This operation is expected to recover around Rs 3 crore in taxes. Luxury cars, including Maserati, Ferrari, Porsche, Range Rover, and BMW have been seized, the sources said.
These top-end cars were registered in states like Delhi, Puducherry, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand.
The operation to seize the luxury cars was carried out on Sunday after gathering information about non-compliance of payment of required taxes for the luxury vehicles.
The RTO team was led by Transport Deputy Commissioner C. Mallikarjun and included 40 officers.
The sources said the owners avoid paying the taxes in Karnataka as the road tax in the state is one of the highest in the country.
While transferring the vehicle from other states to Karnataka, the tax is determined based on the seating capacity, cubic capacity of the engine, fuel type, cost and weight and usage purpose and date of manufacturing.
The Karnataka government has introduced an additional cess charge of Rs 1,000 for cars at the time of registration in December 2024.
Earlier, in August 2021, the Karnataka Transport Department seized seven luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce, belonging to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan.
However, later, it was found that the Bengaluru-based realtor, who had purchased the luxury car from Amitabh, had not got the registration of the vehicle transferred to his name.
The authorities had asked the present owner Babu to produce the necessary documents and get the vehicle released.
The Transport Department carried out a drive near the upscale UB City area in Bengaluru for not paying taxes, and not having proper documents and insurance.
Babu, the present owner of the car and proprietor of Umrah developers, said, "I have directly purchased Rolls-Royce by paying Rs 6 crore to Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachan. I purchased the vehicle though it was old as it belonged to the actor in 2019. I have applied for the change of name for registration somehow but it could not be done."
"We own two Rolls-Royce cars. Another is a new one. My children take Amitabh Bachan's car during Sundays and holidays. My daughter was travelling in the car when it was seized. The officers have asked her to come to the RTO office located in Nelamangala on the outskirts of the city. She had requested them to let her get dropped to the house and they have obliged," he said.
