Goverment set to act against ‘Goan’ luxury vehicles with outstation registration

PANAJI: The state transport department has decided to crack down on the practice of owners of luxury cars registering their vehicles outside the state for road tax benefits. In pursuit of this, the department will start a 30-day special drive to have owners re-register their vehicles in the state.
The director of transport stated that the department has taken cognisance of the large number of outstation vehicles plying in the state, especially high-end luxury ones purchased by local Goan residents, business entrepeneurs and companies based in Goa, who have gotten them registered in the Union territories of Puducherry and Daman and Diu, or states like Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Delhi, Jharkand, etc.
The director said that as per Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, when a vehicle registered in one state has been moved to another for a period exceeding 12 months, the owner of the vehicle should apply to the registering authority within whose jurisdiction the vehicle has been kept for new registration.
“All vehicle owners concerned are therefore directed to take note of the above provision and comply accordingly within a period of 30 days from the date of issue of this notice by approaching the offices of the registering authority in whose jurisdiction they are residing, and apply for change of address immediately,” the director said. He added that failure to do so shall result in prosecution under provisions of the MV Act, 1988, Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, and Goa Motor Vehicle Taxation Act and Rules, 1974, and may further lead to criminal investigation for registering vehicles outside the state using false addresses and causing loss of revenue to the exchequer.
In 2015, the BJP coalition government headed by then chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar hiked road tax on high-end cars to increase revenue. Following the decision, several businessmen purchased and registered their cars outside Goa.