Panaji, Oct 18 (TOI): Despite the transport department’s mandate that owners of vehicles with outstation registration must get them re-registered at regional transport offices (RTO) in Goa by the end of the month, very few such owners have complied, senior officials said. The RTO at Panaji, for instance, has not yet received a single application for re-registration.

In a notice issued last month, the transport department had stated that vehicles having outstation registration but plying in Goa for over 12 months, would have to be re-registered in the state. The rule is applicable to all two, three and fourwheelers, especially luxury cars that are known to be registered in Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, to evade heavy tax in Goa.

“Not many people have re-registered even though it is estimated that there must be plenty such vehicles. All over the state, only a few have come forward, but the actual count will be seen by end of the month,” a transport official said.

With less than 15 days to deadline, transport officials are ready to crack the whip on violators. “Those who fail to comply will be brought to the police station along with their cars, after which we will challan them and direct them to the registering authority’s office. They will be given seven days to re-register, failing which their vehicles will be seized,” the official said.

As per Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, when a vehicle registered in one state has been moved to another for a period exceeding 12 months, the owner of the vehicle should apply to the registering authority within whose jurisdiction the vehicle has been kept, for the purpose of new registration.

Failure to do so invites prosecution under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, and Goa Motor Vehicle Taxation Act and Rules, 1974, and could even lead to criminal investigation for registering vehicles outside the state using false addresses and causing losses to the state exchequer.