HYDERABAD: With the pace of using ‘TG’ vehicle registration plate picking up, the advance registration for the second series of registration numbers has started at the Khairtabad Regional Transport Office since May 20. The first series, comprising 10,000 numbers, from 0001 to 9999, was put up for advance reservation at the Khairatabad RTO on March 15 and was sold out in approximately two months, ending May 20.
The exercise is yet to kick off in the remaining four RTOs — Malakpet, Tolichowki, Bahadurpura, and Secunderabad — where the process is midway through the first series.
As per officials, a total revenue of Rs 2.70 crore was generated after the completion of vehicle registration in the first series, and Rs 34.41 lakh was amassed till May 25 evening — the first six days of the opening of the registration window for the second series.
During the auctions for the first series of numbers, the highest bid went for the conventionally sought ‘TG-09-9999’ number plate for a whopping Rs 25.50 lakh. It was acquired by city-based Sony Transport Solutions for a Toyota Land Cruiser four-wheeler. As many as 11 people participated in the auction process for the special category number, popularly known as the fancy number.
Among the four sought-after numbers, while 9999 led the pack, it was followed by ‘TG-09-0001’, which was sold for Rs 9.61 lakh. The remaining two numbers — 0099 and 0999 — went for the base price of Rs 50,000 in a single application.
M Purushottam Reddy, Regional Transport Officer Khairatabad, told TNIE, “When the process started in March, not many people were aware as the list was released for only the first thousand numbers. Gradually, 200 to 250 numbers were released on average every day after that. By the time number 9999 was made open for reservation, many people were aware, and it went for a high price in the auction.”
The base price for vehicle registration at the RTAs is fixed in five categories, starting at Rs 5,000 and going up to Rs 50,000 for special category numbers. For two-wheeler registration, an amount of Rs 2,000 is charged. If there is a clash in the application between two- and four-wheelers for the same numbers, priority is given to the latter.
“Once an advance registration is completed through an online process, the buyer has to complete the permanent registration process by visiting the RTO within the following 15 days to avoid cancellation of the vehicle number,” Purushottam said.