Kochi: A new modus operandi indulged in by luxury private bus lobby operating inter-state services to dodge tax was unearthed by the Motor Vehicle Department which now aims to carry out regular checks that may cause hardships to commuters.
During a routine check by an MVD squad the other day at Karunagapally, officers noticed a luxury bus operating to Bengaluru without the number plate in the back. Upon its return trip, the squad inspected documents and found that a photocopy of the tax token was changed slightly.
“The bus with number ‘KL-01 AB - 4731’ was operating on the Thiruvananthapuram-Bengaluru route. The group ‘Shyama Travels’ has another bus with number ‘KL-01-AB-4732. They would remit the tax for one bus and keep the photocopy of the same in the other one which would operate without remitting the luxury tax which would come to Rs 98,000 per quarter. They would scratch the last digit to make it appear like ‘1’,” said G. Krishna Kumar, Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector, Deputy Transport Commissioner’s South Zone squad.
The fraud came to light when the suspicious officers contacted officials of the Govindapuram check post (Palakkad).
“It was the first time we have come across such an attempt. We suspect the practice is common among the luxury bus operators. The Deputy Transport Commissioner, South Zone, has directed us to check all luxury buses from next quarter onwards at regular intervals,” the officer said.
“We’ll collect details of all operators who have buses with look-alike registration numbers. So far, the buses were spared from checking especially during night taking into account the hardship caused to the commuters. Not anymore,” the officer said.
