[DiatryDal]

Car owners in the state who had registered their vehicles in other states, particularly Puducherry, are a worried lot now as officials have started crackdown on such vehicles.

Officials say that some vehicle dealers advise buyers to register their vehicles in Puducherry as this would help them save between a few thousand to several lakhs of rupees depending upon the cost of the vehicle.

Officials have collected nearly Rs.1 crore in the few days since they started the special drive in Chennai city.

Late on Monday evening, officials near the airport intercepted a luxury car that was registered in Puducherry and collected a whopping Rs.11 lakh towards tax.

“The car’s value is around Rs.90 lakh but the owner has only paid Rs.50,000 towards registration charges at Puducherry. Hence, we collected `11 lakh towards tax from the owner from Egmore,” sources said.

In Redhills area, Rs.7 lakh has been collected from vehicle owners, while Anna Nagar stood top with Rs.32 lakh, with Meenambakkam accounting for Rs.14 lakh.

More than 15 luxury vehicles registered in Puducherry have been impounded in the city for non-payment of taxes.

It has now become a practice for vehicle buyers in Chennai and areas outlying the Union territory to register it at Puduchery as they levy the lowest registration charges.

Owners of luxury vehicles spend less than Rs.1 lakh while registering in Puducherry, irrespective of the cost of the vehicle towards tax. In Tamil Nadu, 10 per cent of the cost is collected towards registration for vehicles that cost less than Rs.10 lakh and 15 per cent for those that cost more than Rs.10 lakh.

The agents help vehicle buyers to register at Puducherry by giving a temporary local address, officials pointed out.

-dc chn