I’m worried as I also sold a Maruti Suzuki Swift back in 2019 and the owner’s initials on Parivahan still match mine.
BHPian hdus001 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
I ran into an issue last month, with the RTO sending me a notice to pay pending tax for a car that I sold over 20 years ago. The notice came to my parent’s home. Anyways, since the amount was low (about 7k), we paid it off, with an affidavit that we disposed of the car.
This worried me a bit, as I had sold other cars too, and if they’re still in my name, I could be held responsible for anything that happens to them. Just looked up Parivahan for one of them, a Swift sold in 2019, and the site shows only 2 characters of the owner’s name and those 2 chars match mine.
Now, I don’t have any documents of the actual sale and do have details of the person who purchased it from me. It was advertised on Olx, and I haven’t kept any messages etc.
What options do I have? Is there any way I can let the RTO know that I don’t own this anymore? Can things like this be done online (have been living overseas for 20+ years now, and don’t visit India very often)?
Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:
One must document the sale, send copies of documents to the RTO, save the courier delivery receipt & take a picture of the car delivery (or video). All this & more in our how to sell a car article.
The only way to solve this menace of buyers not transferring the car is for the cops to impose heavy fines on the buyer and/or seize non-transferred cars.
Here’s what BHPian hserus had to say on the matter:
There is a form TCR that you have to send to the RTO with a copy of the sale paperwork, intimating them that you have sold the car.
This is for the Maharashtra govt but the same form is valid pan-India.
Here’s what BHPian anjan_c2007 had to say on the matter:
It’s a Catch 22 situation here. For such sales, the vendor needs to be extra careful these days, especially after the Supreme Court ruling that responsibility for transfer lies with the seller. That’s now the law of the country.
The non-availability of sale records with you and also the non-availability of the name of the buyer puts you at risk.
The first step you need to take is to file a loss report (loss of sale documents and proof of sale) with the police station under whose jurisdiction the sale had taken place. You may also sign an affidavit solemnly swearing and stating that you have lost all the sale-related documents, proof of sale and even the name of the buyer. This affidavit needs to be attested by a state govt designated notary. A copy of the affidavit needs to be handed over to the police station while filing the loss report for authentication.
The next logical step will be to file an FIR in the same police station referring to the loss report number and attaching its copy. With this FIR you need to file a copy of the pending tax receipt that you claim to have received and paid. The car number and details etc need to be cited. The police need to be requested to trace this car and its owner since he or she has not yet effected the transfer of ownership. Such non-transfer of ownership can land or entangle you as its present owner despite the sale being duly effected in future civil and criminal cases related to the car, you can state, as the owner still vests with you.
If need be, talk to the superior police officials after or before filing such a loss report and the FIR.
Keyword: Got a Rs 7,000 tax bill for a car I sold 20 years ago!