There is a live example of the incidents where Karnataka Road Transport Department authority and police authorities would probably break the non-Karnataka vehicles. Hot right now is a video which has gone viral, where official finding and seizing cars that have overstayed in the state are seen.
It has been reported that any vehicle found to exceed this will be directed to compile a very high penalty. In some cases, it's been reported that if a car has been in state for over 11 months, it will be asked to pay the full Karnataka road tax.
Bengaluru authorities collecting fines for other states' cars
Shared this video of enforcement against non-Karnataka vehicles on Instagram by The Indian Motorheads on their page. It has a caption indicating that RTO officials hand over a fine to the owner of a Mercedes-Benz E-Class with a Maharashtra registration number, specifically from Navi Mumbai.
It was seen issuing fines to a Hyundai i20 and a Mercedes-Benz GLC luxury SUV, apart from this vehicle. Just in case anyone is not aware of the backstory, it all started with the fines levied on a Ferrari and an Audi, and since then the RTO officials and police authorities have been finding regular cars from other states.
What's happening?
A vehicle can not stay in another state more than 11 months as per the Central Motor Vehicles Act of 1988, after which the owner must have it registered in the state they are residing in. However, the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Taxation (Amendment) Act of 2014 limits their stay to 30 days and fines them beyond it.
Thus, both the Karnataka Road Transport Department and police apprehend and check all vehicles registered outside Karnataka. Reports suggest that a vehicle has overstayed in Karnataka for more than eleven months; then, authorities expect immediate settlement of dues regarding road tax.
The authorities are also checking if there has been any previous fine levied on these non-Karnataka-registered vehicles; if found with any history in the system, they too will be understood to have overstayed in the new registration grace and will receive a fine again. In case the owner does not settle his tax, the authorities seize the vehicles.
Reportedly, even vehicles from neighboring states are not being spared by the authorities. However, the only ones that are being exempted are TN-70, which is Hosur's registrar code, and AP-39, which belongs to the border area of Andhra Pradesh's Gajuwaka. These two places, as well as the vehicles from there, involve cross-border movement.
Now, the applicable rule states that if any vehicle moves into Karnataka with registration from another state, the owner has to inform the Karnataka RTO officials and obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
It has been made a condition so that the vehicle can be used legally on the roads of Karnataka. Furthermore, at the end of 11 months, the owner is required to pay the road tax to the RTO department. Whereas, if the vehicle leaves Karnataka just before 11 months, then he is not obliged to pay the tax.
Central-state contradiction
This is, as said, contrary to the laws of the state and central governments. The Central Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, states that a vehicle can be in a different state up to 11–12 months within the country, on one hand, and Karnataka applies a very strict rule against the central law, having a 30-day validity, which results in chaos and confusion among owners who own such vehicles.
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