Tinsukia, Jan. 15: The matter of obtaining a VIP or a fancy registration number for your vehicle in Assam is no longer a mere exercise of power or contacts.

The Assam government issued a gazette notification in December, making it mandatory for those who ask for a fancy number to bid for it.

Earlier, a vehicle owner had to pay Rs 5,000 in addition to the registration fee for a fancy registration number with the condition that he or she gets a letter from the commissioner of transport.

The district transport officer of Dibrugarh, S.R. Mannan, said, "The notification published on December 29 has come into force immediately. However, it mentioned that the rules for bidding will be framed by the commissioner of transport and it has reached us only on Wednesday."

The state government has set a base price of Rs 1 lakh for fancy numbers like 0001 and 0786 and Rs 50,000 for numbers from 0002 to 0009 for personalised vehicle.

However, for commercial vehicles, the base price for 0001 and 0786 is Rs 20,000, while from 0002 to 0009 is Rs 10,000 each.

For numbers 0010 to 0099 in any series, the base price reserved for auction is Rs 25,000.

Fancy registration marks 0100, 0200, 0300, 0400, 0500, 0600, 0700, 0800, 0900, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000, 9000, 0111, 0222, 0333, 0444, 0555, 0666, 0777, 0888, 0999, 1111, 2222, 3333, 4444, 5555, 6666, 7777, 8888 and 9999 have been clustered as grade IV with base price of Rs 20,000.

The government has decided to auction altogether 411 numbers of every series.

The notification stated all district transport offices will have to put up fancy registration marks (FRM) available with them on their notice boards on the first day of every week.

A vehicle owner will be able to submit his bid during office hours through an application with necessary documents in a sealed cover with receipt of fee deposited, amount quoted and a demand draft not less than half of the base price for the fancy number applied for drawn in favour of the district transport officer.

Mannan said the bids have to be opened at the end of the week or the next working day as the case may be, in front of the bidders or their authorised representative.

"The highest bidder shall be allotted the fancy registration mark," Mannan said.

However, there has to be a gap of five working days between the opening and closing of the auction.

The nod to an amendment in the Assam Motor Vehicles Rules was given after the auction of fancy registration marks was spelt out in the summer session of the Assembly.

Fancy registration marks will be allotted to government vehicles free of cost only on certification from an officer not below the rank of secretary of a department concerned or deputy commissioner of the particular district.

The decision to auction fancy registration marks to vehicle owners will not only add a huge revenue to the exchequer but will also take away undue power from the hands of the commissioner of transport through which he or she used to allot fancy registration numbers at his or her discretion. The same were being auctioned in several states during this period, fetching unprecedented level of revenues for the state government.

Delhi, which has a system of e-auction in place since October 2014, received up to Rs 12.5 lakh for a fancy vehicle registration number 0001.

Several states like Punjab, Haryana, Goa, Karnataka and Odisha already have a bidding system in place for allotment of fancy registration mark.

The bidding process in most of the above states is e-auction.