Losses to K-P’s kitty: Car owners head to other provinces for registration

E&T department officials say majority of K-P’s vehicles registered elsewhere.

PESHAWAR:

The excise and taxation (E&T) department has been facing a decline in its revenue as over 70% of Sedans and other four-wheelers plying Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s roads have been registered in districts outside the province, say the department’s officials.

According to a senior official who has served the department for over 15 years, revenue generated by vehicle registration has dropped by 40% over the years as more and more locals are opting to register their vehicles in Islamabad.

“Eight out of 10 vehicles in Peshawar do not have K-P number plates,” he said. “These vehicle owners pay motor vehicle tax to other provinces but use and damage K-P’s roads.”

Why other districts

As per Section 24 of the K-P Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965, vehicles should be registered in the district where the owner lives, works or does business. However, many of the province’s residents are violating this law as they are reluctant to get their new cars registered in the province for a number of reasons.



“The resale value of cars registered in Islamabad is greater than the resale value of cars registered here, which is why I got mine registered in the federal capital,” said Peshawar resident Muhammad Ayaz.

He added he frequently visits the capital and the Islamabad number plate saves him from police harassment at checkpoints. “Cars with K-P number plates are stopped by police and it wastes a lot of time.”

Locals also cite delays in the registration process and issuance of number plates by the provincial E&T department as a reason to choose other cities.

“Islamabad E&T department issues number plates the same day you apply for registration, while in K-P you get a registration number and have to use a temporary number plate till the original is issued,” said Akbar Ali, a resident of Kohat Road who was visiting the Peshawar excise department office to receive his registration papers.

According to Ali, the department sends the vehicle’s invoices and other documents for verification to automobile companies and customs department. Verification takes more than a month so issuance of number plates gets more delayed.

“Registering in Islamabad is definitely more attractive because you get prompt service and the vehicle’s resale value remains high.”

The illegal process

The law requires a car to be registered in the district where the owner lives or works so people who register their cars in other districts do so illegally. “You pay agents who give you an Islamabad house address along with photocopies of utility bills of that house.

You submit these in the Islamabad excise department to prove you live in the city and then get your car registered,” said Muhammad Ayaz who says he paid Rs8,000 to one such agent.

According to an official of the Peshawar E&T office, the issue of the illegal registration process came to light when the Federal Board of Revenue sent income tax notices to some Islamabad residents whose home addresses were mentioned on registration papers of over a dozen cars. “The residents had no idea who the cars belonged to.”

Taking action

Subsequently, rules at the Islamabad E&T department have been made stricter. “Attendants have to submit their CNIC with the undertaking if they are applying for registration vehicle for their friends, business partners or family,” said a senior official of the department, adding an attendant can submit an undertaking for only two cars now.

According to K-P E&T Director General Mohammad Javed Marwat, a drive has been launched in the province against vehicles registered elsewhere illegally and thus far 130 such vehicle owners have been fined. “We have instructed them to get their cars transferred to K-P registration plates, and the drive will continue,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2015.