How a Bengaluru man tried to dodge tax by registering his Ferrari & Mercedes in other states but ended up paying Rs 1 crore in dues

A businessman based in Bengaluru has landed in trouble for trying to dodge Karnataka’s high road tax by registering his luxury cars in other states. According to a TOI report, he has now been made to pay nearly Rs 1 crore in pending taxes after a transport department inquiry.

The department recovered Rs 61.9 lakh in tax for his Ferrari 812 Superfast, which was registered in Jharkhand, and Rs 37 lakh for his Mercedes-Benz, which was registered in Puducherry. Officials found that both cars were regularly being used in Karnataka, even though they were registered elsewhere.

“He lives and works in Bengaluru. The Ferrari, which costs about Rs 5 crore, was registered in Jharkhand with just Rs 14 lakh paid as tax. If he had registered it here, the tax would have been close to Rs 1 crore,” a senior official from the transport department told TOI.


As per the rules, if a car registered outside Karnataka is used in the state for more than 12 months, the owner must pay Karnataka’s road tax. “He didn’t follow this rule,” the official added.

In March, the department sent the businessman a notice asking him to pay the dues. He first claimed the Ferrari had only come to Bengaluru for servicing in January and would be returned to Jharkhand within three months.

“But we gathered proof that both cars had been used here regularly for over a year. On Friday, we showed him the evidence and warned of legal action. He then agreed to settle the matter and gave cheques for the dues,” the official added.

This is the second such case in recent days. Earlier this week, the department collected Rs 40 lakh in tax from another businessman who had bought second-hand Rolls-Royce cars that once belonged to actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan. Those vehicles were also running in Karnataka without paying local tax.

Inputs from TOI