The registration of a luxury Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) with the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) in Shivamogga by furnishing phoney documents to evade statutory tax and fee has come to light.
In the sale letter, invoice and other documents submitted for registration of the vehicle on July 13, 2019, its price was put down as ₹9.31 lakh. An amount of ₹1.44 lakh was levied as statutory tax and fee for registration.
However, during a verification conducted recently, it was found that the actual price of the vehicle was around ₹37 lakh and the statutory tax and fee payable for its registration was around ₹5 lakh. To escape payment of the high tax and fee the vehicle attracted, fake documents quoting a lower price for the vehicle were furnished to the RTA.
The RTA recently issued notice to the owner of the vehicle, the owner of the showroom from which the vehicle was purchased, and the firm with which the vehicle was insured. L. Deepak, Regional Transport Officer, told The Hindu that a notice has been served even on the case worker serving with the RTA who executed the registration. The vehicle has been blacklisted to prevent a change of ownership. After responses are received for the notices, further legal action will be initiated against the erring persons and measures taken to recover the remaining tax and fee, he said.