Hyderabad: Online auction kicks off for fancy numbers

Hyderabad: The Telangana Transport department has extended the online booking (e-bidding process) of the fancy registration numbers to few more RTA offices including Medchal, Ibrahimpatnam, Kondapur, Rangareddy in an effort to eradicate the role of middlemen.

The transport department had started the e-bidding process of the fancy registration numbers such all nines (9999) on a pilot project basis in some RTA offices in the city in January 2020. The pilot project was started in offices like Khairatabad, Secunderabad, Mehdipatnam, Malakpet and Bandlaguda. The services are now started in the RTA offices like Uppal, Medchal, Kondapur, Rangareddy and Ibrahimpatnam.

According to officials, the fancy registration numbers are the most sought after by the vehicle owners, especially the high-end vehicle owners. Until now the vehicle owners had to visit the RTA offices and quote a price for a particular number. The vehicle owners should quote a price apart from the prescribed fee and deposit a demand draft of that price in a sealed cover and deposit it in a box at the RTA office. The vehicle owner who bids the higher price would be given the number, said a senior RTO.

The fancy registration numbers such as 1, 9, 999, and 9999 comes with a basic price of Rs 50,000. Similarly, there are other numbers such as 99, 555, 666, 777, 888 etc comes with a basic price of Rs 30,000 as the prescribed fee.

The applicant can book the fancy number by quoting a price for the desired number. The applicant would have to submit the application by quoting the price by 1 pm. The RTA authorities would open the online bids by 3 pm and the highest bidder would be informed with an SMS. The entire process would not be known to anyone. There will be no role of the middlemen in the transaction of the fancy numbers. The vehicle owner after successful bidding will have to pay the fee and show the vehicle to the authorities within 15 days, the official added.