A red Ferrari SF90 Stradale, one of the most exotic cars to hit Bengaluru streets in recent times, was seized by transport officials on Thursday for dodging road tax in Karnataka, according to a report by NDTV.
The supercar, which comes with a starting price tag of Rs 7.5 crore, is registered in Maharashtra, a state where road taxes on luxury vehicles are significantly lower than in Karnataka. Though the Ferrari had become a familiar sight among car lovers in the city, the owner never got around to re-registering it locally or paying the required state road tax.
Following a tip-off, officials from the Bengaluru South RTO launched an investigation. They tracked down the vehicle, verified its documents, and found that the car had been operating in the state without fulfilling the mandatory tax requirements.
Once the violation was confirmed, the authorities seized the Ferrari and issued a notice to the owner, instructing them to settle the dues by Thursday evening. The notice came with a stern warning: failure to pay would result in legal consequences.
The owner responded quickly and paid Rs 1.41 crore, a sum that includes the pending tax and penalties. Officials from the transport department noted that this payment is among the biggest single-vehicle tax recoveries in recent memory.
The seizure is part of a wider crackdown by the Karnataka transport department, which has been going after high-end cars evading local taxes. Earlier this year, in February, the department confiscated 30 luxury vehicles–Ferraris, Porsches, Audis, BMWs, Aston Martins, and Range Rovers–for similar violations. Over 40 RTO officers had been involved in that large-scale operation.
As per Karnataka’s motor vehicle laws, any vehicle that is used regularly in the state must be re-registered and the applicable road tax must be paid–regardless of where it was originally registered. The law is clear: if a vehicle is based in the state for over a year, it must contribute its share toward maintaining local infrastructure.
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Officials say such enforcement is necessary to ensure fairness and accountability.
