Maharashtra govt hikes VIP number fees; pay Rs 6 lakh for '0001' in Mumbai and high-demand areas

The Maharashtra government has hiked fees for choice numbers commonly known as VIP numbers for new vehicles which will translate into revised Rs 6 lakh charge for the most soughtafter 0001 number for fourwheelers in highdemand areas like Mumbai Pune and other cities reported news agency PTIInterestingly the new fees mean that an outofseries VIP number will cost up to Rs 18 lakh in major cities including Mumbai and Pune which incidentally is the cost of new cars in the midsegmentAs per the transport departments notification dated August 30 the cost for the coveted number 0001 will rise to Rs 5 lakh for fourwheelers up from the current Rs 3 lakh For two and threewheelers the fee will increase to Rs 1 lakh doubling from the existing Rs 50000 reported PTIIn highdemand areas such as Mumbai Mumbai Suburban Pune Thane Raigad Aurangabad Nashik Kolhapur and Nashik the VIP fee for 0001 will be Rs 6 lakh up from Rs 4 lakh for vehicles with four or more wheels reported PTIMany high networth individuals top businessmen politicians and celebrities among others prefer VIP numbers for their expensive cars reported PTIThe revised threetime basic fees will be Rs 15 lakh for fourwheelers and morewheeled vehicles and Rs 3 lakh for two and threewheelers if the number 0001 is unavailable in the current series for that particular type of vehicle and if it needs to be given from another series as per the rules the notification stated reported PTIThe new fees mean that an outofseries VIP number will cost up to Rs 18 lakh in major cities including Mumbai and Pune comparable to the price of several midsegment cars Previously the fee was Rs 12 lakh a sum paid by entities like Reliance Industries for such numbers after opting for it out of series in the last few years reported PTIAdditionally the state government has allowed the transfer of VIP numbers to immediate family members including spouses sons and daughters a change from the previous restriction against such transfers reported PTIThis fee revision which follows a draft notification issued on September 16 2022 represents the first update since the last fee revision on April 20 2013Maharashtra has identified 240 VIP numbers in each registration series with notable numbers like 0009 0099 0999 9999 and 0786 apart from 0001 seeing a fee increase to Rs 25 lakh up from Rs 15 lakh for fourwheelers and morewheeled vehicles and Rs 50000 for twowheelers and threewheelers instead of the existing Rs 20000 reported PTIFees for other soughtafter numbers is also increased For 16 popular numbers the new fee is Rs 1 lakh for fourwheelers instead of the existing Rs 70000 and Rs 25000 for twowheelers from Rs 15000 reported PTIFor 49 additional numbers the fee has been raised to Rs 70000 from current Rs 50000 for fourwheelers and Rs 15000 for two and threewheelersFor another set of 189 registration numbers like 0011 0022 0088 0200 0202 4242 5656 and 7374 the revised fees are Rs 25000 for fourwheelers and Rs 6000 for twowheelers and more than twowheel vehicles reported PTIIn a move to benefit vehicle owners the government has extended the period for producing a vehicle with a reserved number from 30 days to six months as per the state government notification reported PTIThere will be no reservation of VIP numbers for government vehicles though exemptions from the payment of fees for the registration mark can be granted through special orders allowing for allotment from any existing series reported PTIThe fee increase is expected to generate additional revenue for the state transport department which reported earnings of Rs 13920 crore from registration number issuances in 183794 cases in the 201718 financial yearWith inputs from PTI