Hefty price for personalised number plates
Wheels
Car owners will be able to choose unique number plates for their vehicles – paying two to six times higher than the regular registration fees.
However, the most desired 77-7777 number plate will cost seven times higher – a whopping Tk6.86 lakh – to buy the six-digit car registration plate.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges issued a gazette in this regard recently.
The authorities have decided to allow owners to choose custom license plates for their cars and four-wheel drives by paying high fees, said the notification signed by Assistant Secretary Mohammad Jasim Uddin.
"For a number plate in which all six digits are the same — such as 55-5555, 66-6666 — the fee will be six times higher than the current registration fee. The cost will be seven times higher than the usual fee for the 77-7777 number plate," said the circular.
As per the circular, registration fees for license plates with a double digit number repeated thrice — such as 34-3434, 45-4545 — will be five times higher, with four of the same digit — 1111, 2222 — will be four times higher, with a double digit number repeated twice — such as 1313, 1515 — will be three times higher.
For a sequence of digits like 0011, 0022, the fee will be two times higher.
Currently the license plate numbers are generated automatically following registration of the vehicles. A car owner counts Tk98,000 for the usual registration.
Personalised plates are regularly used in films and television shows to hint that a character is a braggart or egomaniac – or just a bit desperate for attention.
In the TV series "The Persuaders," international playboy Brett Sinclair, 15th Earl of Marnock, drove an Aston Martin DBS with the number plate BS1. In the 1964 Bond film "Goldfinger," the villain had AU1 on his 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville.
Nearly two years ago, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal revealed his plan to allocate desired license plate numbers for a hefty fee.
The minister said many developed countries offer such personalised plates which enables the governments to earn extra revenue.
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