Luxury Mercedes seized in Rs 10 lakh tax fraud: RTO officials track owner for weeks

In a significant crackdown on vehicle tax evasion, Bengaluru RTO officials have seized a luxury Mercedes-Benz GLE 43 allegedly registered under a false identity to evade taxes amounting to nearly Rs 10 lakh. The car was originally purchased by Kishan Gopal from Sundaram Motors in September 2017. However, it remained unregistered until September 2020, and when it was finally registered, it was reportedly disguised as a lower-end Mercedes-Benz GLA 200.

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The tax liability for the original GLE 43 model, valued at Rs 70 lakh after showroom discounts, was approximately Rs 17.85 lakh. But by registering it as the GLA 200, valued at just Rs 35 lakh, the owner paid only Rs 7 lakh in road tax. This deceptive practice allowed him to avoid around Rs 10 lakh in legitimate dues to the government.

RTO officials, acting on suspicions raised during a registration audit, initiated a covert search. The challenge intensified when they discovered that the car owner had changed residences. After nearly a week of surveillance, officials tracked the car to a basement parking area at the owner’s new residence.

Since the owner was abroad, the RTO couldn’t forcefully seize the vehicle. However, once the individual returned and was spotted taking the car out, the officials acted swiftly and seized the vehicle on the spot.