It is a little known fact that people purchasing vehicles end up paying more than they should to register their vehicles. Though the transport department has had several rounds of discussion on this issue, the unfortunate thing is that there is no provision under the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules to punish those who cheat the customers.
Mr Syed Shafi Ahmed, Regional Transport Authority Secretary and Road Transport Officer, Bangalore South, said his department has held several meetings with vehicle dealers and advised them not to charge such exorbitant amounts. The dealers give some excuse to justify their action, he added.
The law
The Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules state every vehicle dealer should deliver vehicles to customers after duly registering them. Under no circumstances could a showroom claim it is providing you with a value added service.
Showrooms claim
Justifying additional charges, dealers say a skilled driver has to be appointed to drive a new car to the RTA for registration. This driver has to be paid at least Rs 7,000 per month. Every day, at least five cars are registered by each showroom and hence they had to employ that many drivers. In addition to this, they had to pay for the fuel needed to take the cars to RTO. The rest of course is towards registration.
“We all know how government offices in our country function; we do not want the customers to stand in long queues at the RTO Offices to get the registration done. Our aim is to provide our customers a happy buying experience,” says a leading car dealer.
If one were to calculate the actual cost per car (including driver salary and petrol cost), it would come to just Rs 700 per car. So where is the justification to charge Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500 more? This question goes unanswered by showroom owners.
As easy as this
The process involved in registering a new car is not as tough as claimed by the dealer. However, under the rules the dealer has to compulsorily register the vehicle before delivering it to the buyer.
At the RTO, form no. CMV 20 signed by the customer is submitted along with the insurance certificate and address proof such as a ration card, passport, LIC policy, electoral identity card, pay slip issued by any office of the Central or State government or a local body. If these documents are not available, an affidavit sworn to by an applicant before an executive magistrate, JMFC or a notary can be produced as evidence of address.
After this the registration fee is paid. The vehicle is inspected and the registration done.
More details are available on http://rto.kar.nic.in/
Reactions
Arjun Singh, a banker (whose vehicle number is KA-05, MC- 8935) who recently purchased a mid-segment car from one of the popular car showrooms in the city, was told that the registration charge of Rs 4,000 was payable to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and the dealer was offering free service by taking the vehicle to the RTO free of cost.
“After going through the rules I understood that the registration charge is Rs 200 for this segment. When asked for an explanation, the dealer claimed that the additional charges were for special number plates and fancy registration number,” he said.
Similarly, Sachin, an aerobics instructor (whose vehicle no. is KA 01, MC-1477) was told by his car dealer that it was a standard procedure followed by all dealers and that it was necessary for them to charge extra as they had to pay the touts and other RTO officials to ensure that the registration is not delayed.
Remedy
The transport authorities say the burden of registration should not be shifted at any cost onto the customer.
The customer purchasing the vehicle should seek all details as to why such a fee is being charged. If he/she finds that the charges are high, a complaint should be lodged with the manufacturer and the RTO.
The RTO feels that the manufacturers have a vital role to play in this and should pull up the dealers if such malpractices come to light.
In case the customer does not get relief he/she can file a complaint before the consumer forum.
