Maharashtra Transport Dept To Check Out-Of-State Vehicles Used For Over A Year; Special Drive From October 5 To 17

Mumbai, October 3, 2026: The Maharashtra Transport Department will launch a special drive from October 5 to 17 to identify private vehicles registered in other states but being used regularly in Maharashtra for more than a year.

The move comes amid concerns that some vehicle owners may be registering their vehicles outside Maharashtra to avoid paying the higher motor vehicle tax applicable in the state.

Transport Commissioner Rajesh Narwekar has directed all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and Deputy RTOs to carry out the verification. Vehicles found to have been used in Maharashtra beyond the permissible period without completing the required formalities may face action, including detention, re-registration and recovery of motor vehicle tax.

Rules For Out-Of-State Vehicles

Under Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a vehicle registered in one state can be used in another state for up to 12 months. If it is to be kept and used in the new state beyond that period, the owner is required to apply for re-registration and pay the applicable motor vehicle tax.

Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Rules also require information to be submitted to the registration authority within seven days of bringing the vehicle into the state.

During the drive, RTO officials will examine documents and other objective evidence to establish how long an out-of-state vehicle has been operating in Maharashtra.

Enforcement teams, flying squads, check posts and joint teams will be deployed at locations where such vehicles are likely to be found, including metropolitan areas, industrial zones, commercial and residential complexes and large parking facilities.

The department has also directed officials to record details of vehicles checked, violations detected, action taken, vehicles detained and tax recovered on a daily basis through a Google Sheet. A consolidated compliance report will be submitted to the Transport Commissioner after the drive.

Focus On 5,664 High-Value Vehicles

The special drive assumes significance as the department is separately examining 5,664 high-value vehicles that were sold by dealers in Maharashtra during 2025-26 but subsequently registered outside the state.

The vehicles, each valued at more than Rs 50 lakh, include luxury and sports cars as well as cranes, trucks and excavators. RTO officials have been asked to verify the registration documents, owners' addresses and reasons for registering the vehicles outside Maharashtra.

According to officials, several vehicles were registered in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, where lower taxation could be one of the reasons for out-of-state registration.

Officials are also examining cranes and excavators, for which the tax structure has shifted from weight-based assessment to taxation based on vehicle value.

The department has not, however, concluded that these vehicles were illegally registered or that their owners deliberately evaded tax.

The 5,664 vehicles are valued between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 3 crore. If the minimum value of Rs 50 lakh is considered for each vehicle, their combined value comes to around Rs 28,320 crore. Preliminary calculations indicate that the potential tax involved could run into hundreds of crores.

The department has estimated that Maharashtra could have earned between Rs 2,500 crore and Rs 3,000 crore if the vehicles had been registered in the state. The actual revenue impact will depend on the verification.

Three to four senior motor vehicle inspectors have been assigned in the concerned RTO jurisdictions. They will verify whether address documents submitted for Certificates of Registration of Temporary Registration (CRTeM) complied with Rule 4 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

The nine RTOs that issued the temporary registration certificates have been asked to provide the relevant documents. The RTO-wise figures include Thane with 1,272 certificates, Pimpri-Chinchwad with 1,061, Wadala with 754, Navi Mumbai with 617, Panvel with 571 and Nagpur with 387.

Owners Can Shift Registration

For owners who have genuinely shifted to Maharashtra, the process is different from cases where vehicles are allegedly kept outside the state only to save tax.

Transport expert MD Faizal said the department should focus on vehicles where there is evidence of deliberate tax avoidance rather than penalising people who move to Maharashtra for work or studies for a few years.

“If a person has shifted to Maharashtra for work or studies, keeping the vehicle in the home state may serve little purpose,” he said, stressing the need to distinguish such cases from intentional tax avoidance.

After 12 months, an owner who intends to permanently keep the vehicle in Maharashtra generally has to obtain an NOC from the original RTO, along with the required documents and police clearance.

The vehicle is then inspected by the Maharashtra RTO before Forms 20 and 27, the original RC, insurance, PUC and Maharashtra address proof are submitted.

The owner must also pay the applicable pro-rata Maharashtra road tax. After re-registration, the owner can seek a refund of the unused portion of the lifetime tax paid in the original state.

For vehicles registered outside Maharashtra, owners may also have to approach the authorised manufacturer or dealer for HSRP installation, as required.

RTO officials said vehicle owners should approach the concerned manufacturer or dealership to obtain the required high-security registration plate.

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Drive To Test Registration System

The October drive is therefore expected to test not only whether out-of-state vehicles are being used beyond the permitted period, but also whether the registration system is being misused to avoid Maharashtra's motor vehicle tax.

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