Nagpur: Cracking down on luxury vehicle owners allegedly evading Maharashtra’s higher road tax, the Nagpur Regional Transport Office (RTO) has blacklisted 23 high-end vehicles purchased in the city but registered in other states and Union Territories.The action comes amid growing concerns over a long-standing practice that has allegedly caused substantial losses to the state exchequer. Several luxury vehicles plying on Nagpur roads bear registration numbers from other states and Union Territories, particularly Daman and Diu (DD) and Chhattisgarh (CG), where road tax rates are significantly lower.Nagpur City RTO Kiran Bidkar confirmed the action. “We have locked the chassis numbers of these 23 vehicles to prevent their registration in other states. The owners will also be unable to carry out official vehicle-related transactions unless they clear the applicable road tax in Maharashtra,” he said.Maharashtra levies around 15% road tax on vehicles costing over Rs20 lakh, while imported vehicles attract approximately 20%. In contrast, Daman and Diu levies just 3% to 4%, allowing luxury car buyers to save several lakhs of rupees.“This huge difference in tax rates encourages luxury vehicle owners to register their cars outside Maharashtra. Daman and Diu has emerged as a preferred registration destination for luxury car owners from Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune, Navi Mumbai and other cities. Even some showroom operators advise buyers to opt for such registrations, resulting in significant revenue losses to the state,” Bidkar said.He explained that some of the blacklisted vehicles had already obtained registration numbers from other states, while others had secured temporary registrations in Maharashtra before obtaining permanent registration elsewhere. Such temporary registrations are valid for six months.Several prominent individuals from Nagpur, including politicians and businessmen, are known to own luxury vehicles bearing registration numbers from other states and Union Territories. However, it remains unclear whether any of their vehicles figure on the blacklist.The issue of alleged tax evasion through out-of-state vehicle registrations had also rocked the Maharashtra legislature earlier this year. Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar raised the matter in the state assembly in July, alleging an organised “RTO racket” facilitating such registrations and other illegal collections.Following the allegations, the state govt constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.
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