The Transport Department released the Rolls Royce car that it had impounded on August 23, after the ‘owner’ paid ₹5,500 as penalty. Transport Commissioner N. Shivakumar told The Hindu that the luxury car was still registered in the name of actor Amitabh Bachchan. Sources said that the penality was paid in the name of Mr. Bachchan.
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According to Mr. Shivakumar, the vehicle’s documents, sourced from the Andheri RTO in Mumbai, were found to be valid. He maintained that there was no tax due. “The only lapse found was that the vehicle did not have insurance cover. Mr. Bachchan is still the legal owner. We were told that it arrived in the city in July through Chennai,” he said.
However, contrary to the claims made by the Commissioner, some officials in the department alleged that after the vehicle was impounded, a report was sent to higher-ups from the RTO office of Yelahanka stating that the car had been plying in the State since February 2019 without payment of tax, coming up to ₹32.13 lakh.
Mr. Shivakumar, however, dismissed these allegations, saying that according to the information he has received, the vehicle arrived in the city in July this year.
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“As per the legal position, tax cannot be raised against the vehicle. Only if the vehicle has been plying in Karnataka for more than 11 months does the question of collecting tax arise. As per the documents available, the owner has registered the vehicle in Mumbai and the tax applicable was paid there,” the Commissioner said.
The vehicle was released after the RTO office received a penalty of ₹5,500 in the name of Mr. Bachchan. The amount was paid on August 27.
