Although ‘Operation Numkhor’ launched by the Customs (Preventive) Commissioner has exposed the illegal importation of luxury vehicles from Bhutan to Kerala and subsequent tax evasion, the Kerala Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) seems to be struggling to follow up the case despite a slew of glaring violations.
According to customs sources, most of the luxury used cars seized from various parts of the state did not pay any road tax or special charges as directed by the MVD. Allegations leveled against some of the impounded vehicles include fake documentation, tax evasion, insufficient vehicle eligibility and even third-party insurance, despite its use in Kerala for the past few years.
It is now up to the state motor vehicle authorities to monitor cases of local tax evasion and ensure that the vehicles are used in their respective jurisdictions as per the law, the customs official said.
For one month
As per Kerala rules, a vehicle registered in another state can be used in Kerala for only one month without paying any special tax or fee. For permanent re-registration, the owner has to pay the road tax set by Kerala within 14 days after a No Objection Certificate (NOC) is issued from the state where the vehicle was originally registered. If you do not re-register within one month, you will be fined and penalized. However, if the owner pays one-fifteenth of the Kerala road tax for life, the vehicle can be used here for up to one year without changing the registration or producing an NOC.
In the latest case, for example, the luxury car with registration number MP-09W 1522 seized from actor Amit Chakkalackal was plying in Kerala for the last five years, he told the media. Out of a total of 40 vehicles seized by customs, around 13 vehicles seized in Malappuram were registered in another state and were being used in Kerala. According to sources, one of them even had the registration of a foreign embassy.
Commenting on the issue, CH Nagaraju, Kerala Transport Commissioner, said that the secretly imported luxury cars were registered in other states. They were then taken to Kerala where they were re-registered. During registration in Kerala, these vehicles will have to pay tax for the duration of the registration. That’s a condition. The system will not allow registration without paying tax. The certificate of competence becomes valid only after the registration period has expired and in the event that the vehicle must be re-registered.
Re-registration
However, data available with customs shows that only a handful of them were re-registered in Kerala and others were being used without changing the registration. It is further suspected that many of the early owners of the vehicles were either fake or resorted to false documentation. The process of verifying the ownership of these impounded vehicles is underway. There have been several such cases in Kerala and most of the vehicles have been shifted to garages or other safe places after customs officials launched a crackdown, sources said.
It is also a difficult task to find such illegal and tax evading vehicles from the thousands of vehicles operating in the state with limited manpower of the department, an MVD official said.
Published – 17 Oct 2025 19:31 IST
