Tags are a licence to love as auction of VIP numbers hits a new high
The e-auction of VIP numbers by the State Transport Department has yielded jaw-dropping prices as 0001 series was auctioned for Rs 12.50 lakh while 0009 series went for Rs 8.25 lakh. Strangely, 0786 number fetched only Rs 2.10 lakh.
According to a Transport Department official, registration number 0001, with a minimum reserved price fixed at Rs 5 lakh, was sold for Rs 12.5 lakh. “E-auction was held for three days. At the end of the day, we successfully sold registration number 0001 for Rs 12.5 lakh while registration number 0009 was sold for Rs 8.25 lakh. M/s Dwarikesh Sugar Industries limited won the bid for 0001 for Rs 12.5 lakh while Karuna Arora got series 0009 at a whopping price of Rs 8.25 lakh,” said an official.
The official said that 0005 was sold to Karanpal Singh for Rs 3.15 lakh followed by 0006 for Rs 3 lakh to Swami Contractors Private limited, 0007 to Brys Hotels Private limited for Rs 5.55 lakh, 0786 for Rs 2.10 lakh to Mahesh Agro Private limited and 0014 for Rs 2.05 lakh. Similarly, registration number 0018 was sold for Rs 2 lakh while 0019 was sold for Rs 2.10 lakh. These apart, 0036 was sold for Rs 2.05 lakh followed by 0111 for Rs 1.35 lakh, 0200 for Rs 1.05 lakh, 0222 for Rs 1 lakh, 0300 for Rs 1.10 lakh, 0777 for Rs 1.40 lakh, 0900 for Rs 1 lakh, 0999 for Rs 1.25 lakh, 1000 for Rs 2 lakh, 1111 for Rs 2.25 lakh, 2222 for Rs 1.15 lakh, 7777 for Rs 2.60 lakh and 9999 for Rs 3.20 lakh.
The official said that from the sale of 29 fancy registration numbers, the Government has amassed Rs 74.40 lakh. “Every month, the Transport Department will hold an e-auction for fancy plates,” he added.
A total of 140 vanity licence plates have gone under the hammer. The desirous and eligible can participate in the e-auction by registering on the Transport Department’s website. The Transport Department is expected to generate over Rs 200 crore from the auctioning of VIP plates. This is the first time that such an auction has been held in the Capital. The Transport Department has recently developed software with the help of Tourism Department for e-auction of VIP numbers for four-wheelers.