The Maharashtrian New Year is considered an auspicious occasion to make important purchases like a car or bike; but dealers in Navi Mumbai say vehicle sales were down by nearly 25 per cent during the festive period this year
Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian New Year, is considered an auspicious time to make important purchases for the family. However, regional transport offices (RTOs) across Navi Mumbai were in for disappointment this year, as the turnout for vehicle registration was much lower than last year.
According to the deputy regional transport officer at Vashi RTO, the number of new registrations was much lower than expected. File pic for representation
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In the last five days, including Gudi Padwa on Saturday, just 702 vehicles both two- and four-wheelers were registered at the Vashi RTO against 775 last year. What’s more, not a single new vehicle was registered on Saturday in Vashi this year, while 55 vehicles had been registered on the auspicious day last year.
“The number of vehicles registered was less this year. We usually keep the RTO office open on Gudi Padwa, but no one turned up for registration. The market has been sluggish this year, and we have been unable to achieve our revenue target,” said Sanjay Dhaygude, deputy regional transport officer (Vashi).
Slow moving
Car dealers in Navi Mumbai told mid-day that automobile sales were down by 20-25 per cent during the festive season this year. “The market is moving slowly and the number of people coming to book vehicles on Gudi Padwa was much lower than expected,” said Rajesh Shah, director of Bhavna Automobile in Nerul.
mid-day had reported (‘Vashi RTO to miss revenue target, officials blame LBT’, January 13) that the Vashi RTO would not meet its revenue target of Rs 237 crore for the 2014-15 fiscal year. RTO officials had said that the Local Body Tax applicable for vehicle registration in Vashi was discouraging people from registering their vehicle there.
A major chunk of the revenue in the Vashi RTO comes from new registrations, and till now, it has managed to collect only about Rs 150 crore.
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