E11: What’s one thing that got me curious this week?

This front portion of a bus got me curious this week. I was on my way from Goa to Hyderabad. I have traveled on multiple buses throughout my life, but this particular bus tingled with my brain in two aspects.

1. First Nagaland registered vehicle I got into.

2. Kannada scriptures were written all over the bus

Why would a Nagaland registered bus have Kannada scriptures written all over it?

While this trend is pretty common in international shipping where majority of the shipping containers are registered in Liberia or Bahamas, seeing this trend in intrastate affairs was new to me.

I dug a little deep only to find out some interesting facts!

1. Nagaland has a lower road tax than some of the predominant industrial states. Owners can save around 10% of the vehicle’s value by registering it in Nagaland.

2. The vehicle doesn’t have to be presented before the RTO in Nagaland. So, the vehicle never has to go to Nagaland.

3. Some states do not allow berths in omnibuses. However, Nagaland RTO provides permits for berths hence bypassing the local state rules.

Nagaland gains significant revenues through road tax, with most freight trucks and buses in important freight corridors being registered in Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. Agents in Nagaland handle the document work with the RTO.

Owners can continue their business by this method, and the state governments are also set to benefit from the revenues; hence, plugging the loophole may not be done actively.

Please watch out for these vehicles on highways on your next long drive!