BENGALURU: A Bengaluru resident and owner of a Bentley Flying Spur is under investigation for allegedly submitting forged documents to undervalue the luxury car and evade road tax during registration.Officials said he also forged temporary registration certificate and insurance documents. The car, reportedly valued at more than Rs 5.5 crore, was allegedly registered using falsified papers that declared its price at Rs 2.4 crore. Based on the reduced invoice value, the owner paid about Rs 52 lakh as road tax. Officials estimate that the actual tax liability should have been close to Rs 1.3 crore, pointing to a possible evasion of around Rs 78 lakh.On Sunday, officials from the Regional Transport Office inspected the vehicle at the owner’s residence in Koramangala and examined the registration-related documents. A notice was issued to the owner, seeking an explanation for the alleged tax evasion and violations of motor vehicle rules.According to officials, the Bentley was purchased in 2023 and initially obtained temporary registration in Delhi. The owner allegedly delayed permanent registration for over a year before registering the car at Bantwal Assistant Regional Transport Office in Dakshina Kannada district. After the registration being completed outside the city, the vehicle was reportedly being used regularly in Bengaluru.An RTO official said dealer-issued bona fide certificates were found inside the car during the inspection. “We received credible inputs that the owner forged documents to undervalue the car and evade tax. Our probe traced the vehicle, which was being used in Bengaluru after registration,” the official said.During the inspection, authorities impounded multiple records, including the tax invoice, insurance certificate, original registration certificate, temporary registration papers and other supporting documents. The department noted that the car was purchased using a financed loan and had been allotted a fancy registration number bought through the RTO. However, the vehicle did not have mandatory high security registration plates, which are required for all vehicles registered after April 1, 2019.“We had sufficient details indicating that the owner forged documents to undervalue the vehicle and evade tax. A notice has been served seeking an explanation, and further action will be initiated by senior officials after reviewing the response. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, there are provisions to cancel the registration certificate if forged documents are submitted at the time of registration,” an official said.
