65% more vehicles bought than usual for Gudi Padwa

Mumbai: As Maharashtrians prepare to celebrate Gudi Padwa, there is a heavy rush at the city’s RTOs to register new cars, SUVs, and two-wheelers for the auspicious day.      RTO officials are working overtime and on Sunday to register new vehicles and two-wheelers, sources said. Most will take delivery of their new cars on Sunday and Monday. “We get requests from several car dealers 10 to 14 days in advance. They also pay the taxes a week ahead of registration and keep all the documents ready. The registration process begins a couple of days before the festival,” an RTO official said.      On Saturday, Tardeo, Andheri and Wadala RTOs were in the process of registering the new vehicles and many also chose the new numbers from the current MH-01, MH-02 and MH-03 series.      Some opted for VIP numbers by blocking them with a reserve price. They paid anywhere between Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000 to secure a special number plate, an official said. While 100 cars and 240 bikes are registered daily on average at all the three RTOs, the number of registrations went up on Saturday and is expected to rise till Monday. “Even after registering new vehicles for Gudi Padwa till Monday, our workload will continue for the next one week,” said an assistant RTO. “There are buyers who will walk into a showroom on Gudi Padwa day and select a car or bike. They will then pay a booking amount on that day and get it registered with the local RTO within a week,” he said.      An official from the Andheri RTO said the purchase of new automobiles in Mumbai usually peaks during four days of the year, Gudi Padwa, Akshaya Tritiya, Dussehra and Diwali. These are auspicious days for starting new ventures, shifting to a new apartment or buying a new car or a two-wheeler.      There are many who prefer to buy new vehicles in December, when car dealers offer loads of discounts and freebies. According to some estimates by sources, more than Rs 2 crore will be collected in the form of motor vehicle tax for the new registrations. The taxes range between 9 and 11 % for petrol-driven cars, 11-13% for diesel vehicles.  File property agreements today and tomorrow T he stamp duty and registration department has kept some offices open each in each zone on Sunday and Monday when Gudi Padwa is celebrated. In the Andheri zone, the Bandra and Jogeshwari branches will remain open (from 7am to 2pm), the Khar branch will work from 2pm to 9pm. In the Kurla zone, the Chembur branch timings are 7am to 2pm, the Nahur branch (2pm to 7pm). In the Borivli zone, the Goregaon telephone branch (7am to 2 pm), the Magathane branch (2 pm to 9 pm) and the Borivli branch (10am to 6 pm). TNN