One number, two vehicles: registration scam thriving

52 vehicles are seized in the biggest haul in recent years

The transport department has seized 52 vehicles bearing fake number plates this year.

The violators are mostly tourist buses and luxury cars. The largest haul of 10 vehicles came from Nelamangala.

This is the biggest haul in years. There were no cases in 2018 and 2019.

Vehicles sporting identical number plates are not easy to catch. Transport commissioner N Shivakumar says, “This is a trick used to evade tax, and the vehicles are not in the same location.”

Different slabs

Transport officials use sources who tip them off on where such vehicles ply.

Narendra Holkar, additional commissioner, Transport, says, “Tourist buses have to pay a tax of about Rs 1 lakh plus every three months and they try to run two buses under the same number plate.”

Different vehicles have different slabs. The tax is Rs 3,300 per seat for tourist buses for a quarter. The seats are usually 35 and the number is fixed at the time of registration of the vehicle.

For sleeper buses, the tax is Rs 4,400, with seats ranging from 30 to 32. “Such buses are increasing in number because people want more comfort,” Holkar told Metrolife.

Goods vehicles pay Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 a quarter, so number plate duplication is not so rampant among their owners. “When vehicles are seized, they are slapped with a huge penalty, starting from the date of purchase,” he says.

Among the seizures for identical number plates are 12 vehicles belonging to H Rajanna and 12 vehicles to Krishna Nanda. The officials have detected similar cases in Mysuru, Belagavi, Chamarajanagar, Shivamogga, Kolar and Hunsur.

Fake number plates

Fake number plates are used to commit crimes such as chain and mobile snatching.

Harish Pandey, Deputy commissioner of police (South), Bengaluru, says “When we seize a vehicle used for the crime, the number on the chassis does not correspond to the registration number,” he explains.

Muggers steal vehicles and use them to commit crimes.

Pandey feels that there should be a separate law to deal with crimes related to use of fake number plates, and impersonation to use others’ bank accounts and SIM cards. “Currently, there are only mild punishments for these crimes,” he says.

Fake number plates are also used by those who commit murder and assault, says C K Baba, DCP (north east), Bengaluru. “It is a challenge to track these crimes because the eye witnesses give one number, and the database shows another,” he observes.

High security registration plates coming

The ministry of road transport and highways has mandated high security registration plates for all vehicles in the new year. “Once the unique registration is fixed, it is electronically linked to the vehicle. This avoids tampering of number plates. High security registration plates come with a snap-on lock which makes them difficult to remove or meddle with,” says a senior transport official.