The demand for fancy numbers for vehicles is so much that some motorists consider even the ‘unlucky' 13 as a fancy number.
It makes the vehicle stand out among the crowd, though it does not command a premium in the fancy-number ‘market'. Some owners book 13 despite it not being considered fancy in the list of over 150 fancy numbers notified by the Motor Vehicles' Department (MVD). “There was auction for the number on a few occasions, when there was more than one claimant,” said the Ernakulam RTO, T. J. Thomas.
In demand
The number 1 has the highest demand. The department has fixed a minimum price tag of Rs. 1 lakh on it. Though claimants generally quote up to Rs. 5 lakh or even more for the number, KL-07-BS-1 (a Mercedes) issued by the Ernakulam RTO Office went for Rs. 1 lakh since the rival bidder did not qualify for the bidding process.
The minimum rate for numbers like 777, 999 and 9999 is Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 30,000 for number 3. The number 786, considered sacred by Muslims, has a minimum price tag of Rs. 25,000. By paying Rs. 10,000 one can bid for 11, 99 and so on. If there are no bidders for a number, it is allotted to a government vehicle.
Though 47 is not a fancy number, it turned fancy (AK-47) when the AK series was in use. The list of notified fancy numbers is available at the department's website www.keralamvd.gov.in. Even other numbers can be reserved by paying Rs. 3,000. No number can be booked or blocked and even those who consider 13 unlucky have no option if they get it in the computer-generated number allocation system.
“The rules are stricter now, to prevent touts and others from engaging in unscrupulous practices. There were instances when middlemen booked fancy numbers and made vehicle owners pay a margin for surrendering the numbers,” Ernakulam RTO, Mr. Thomas said.
Under the new rule, the vehicle owner has to directly approach the RTO office to book a fancy number. The government's revenue has been increasing each year, especially since the 14 districts in Kerala now have numerous sub-RTO offices with a different number for each.
“A few celebrities in the State are willing to pay any amount to get their ‘lucky number' as the registration number for their vehicle. Their fleet of vehicles would have the same number, though from different registration series,” said Anu Antony, senior sales consultant with a luxury car dealer in Kochi. A vehicle with a fancy number is visible, gives identity to the owner and even commands a better price in the resale market, he said.
Even if the vehicle number is not fancy, most people want the total of the registration number to be an odd number (i.e., 3 for 8040 [8+4] or 2061 (total 9) etc.).
There is much less obsession for fancy numbers in the city suburbs. “There is seldom any auction for fancy numbers, including for one. Thus, 1 goes for the minimum rate — Rs. 1 lakh,” said Adarshkumar Nair, Motor Vehicle Inspector of the Tripunithura Sub RTO Office.
