Now get vehicle registration at showroom to keep touts at bay

​Hyderabad: To end the broker raj and other malpractices involved in getting registration of a vehicle at the RTA offices, the State Transport department is contemplating to start vehicle registrations at showrooms from new financial year.

The State government has issued orders to start vehicle registrations at automobile showrooms where the vehicles are sold from April 1. The idea behind this move is to curb the corrupt practices and involvement of agents and brokers at the RTA offices in the State. The department is planning to shift the entire process of registration to the showroom. 

Usually, when vehicle is purchased, the vehicle owner is given a temporary number from the showroom. The owner should go for the permanent registration number visiting the concerned RTA office. The RTA authority would inspect the vehicle and issue certificate of registration once he is satisfied with his checking. Here, the vehicle owners shell out more money to the broker for getting his work done quickly.

With the government bringing in the registration process in showrooms, the process would be like that. The AMVI/MVI (motor vehicle inspector) would examine the documents, invoices, Form 21 and 22, engine and chassis number by visiting the showroom itself. The department would require Rs 11 crore for having the system, a senior official told Hans India. 

The vehicle should come out with High Security Registration Plates (HSRP). If the vehicles come out without HSRP, they would have to face huge penalties, said the official. There is a provision for penalty on the dealer if he fails to provide permanent registration within one month. If they repeat the mistake, they would have to face penalty to the tune of Rs 5 lakh and also suspension of dealership. 

However, if the vehicle owners want to have fancy registration numbers they will have to visit the RTA offices. The fancy numbers such as 9999, 6666 etc comes with a price. The vehicle owners would have to take part in the auction if there is more than one applicant for the same number.

 The official said that to avoid the discrepancies, the department has decided not to keep the fancy registration at the dealer. The vehicle owner would have to follow the old process to get fancy registration, the official added.