Ferrari zips around Bengaluru for a year without tax - made to pay Rs 1.4 cr after RTO steps in

Credit: @guaranteenews / X

A Ferrari owner was forced to shell out Rs 1.42 crore after Regional Transport Office officials caught the luxury supercar being used on the streets of Bengaluru without road tax being paid in Karnataka on Thursday, The Times of India reported.

The bright red Ferrari SF90 Stradale worth Rs 7.5 crore had been making heads turn on the streets of Bengaluru.

As per TOI, the luxury car was registered in Maharashtra, where lifetime tax on such vehicles is a flat Rs 20 lakh. "In Maharashtra, tax on such cars is a flat Rs 20 lakh, but in Karnataka, it amounts to nearly Rs 1.5 crore. The vehicle was registered in Maharashtra two years ago. Around 8.30 am on Thursday, the driver was cruising near Lalbagh. When we stopped the car and asked for documents, he said they were at home. Later, we verified the registration," TOI quoted an official as saying.

Acting on a tip-off, officials from the Jayanagar Regional Transport Office (RTO) had been keeping an eye on the Ferrari, which was often seen around the city. The driver initially claimed that the documents were at home. After verifying the car’s registration, officials found that the vehicle had been in use in Bengaluru for more than 18 months without paying Karnataka’s tax.

Officials contacted their senior officers, who directed them to seize the vehicle if the dues were not cleared. To avoid losing his car, the businessman who owns the Ferrari paid Rs 1.4 crore in taxes and penalties on the same day.

According to officials, the businessman runs operations across 55 cities in India and had chosen to register the Ferrari in Maharashtra due to the lower tax rate. However, Karnataka’s rules clearly state that anyone using an out-of-state vehicle in the state for over a year must pay lifetime road tax here.

This is not the first time Bengaluru RTO officials have acted against luxury car owners for evading taxes. In March, during a special drive, they collected Rs 40 crore in dues from high-end vehicles registered outside Karnataka.