The highest bid came for ‘Dawar 1’ at 175 million. Rs, followed by ‘Waziristan 1’ at Rs 40.6 crore. Rs and ‘Bajaur 1’ at 33.5 million.
PESHAWAR:
A recent high-profile auction of premium VIP and special vehicle number plates in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has turned into controversy after several winning bidders failed to make payments, forcing the revenue department to forfeit their security deposits.
The auction, held on February 14 in Peshawar, featured coveted selection plates with tribal and regional names. It initially created excitement with record bids totaling millions of rupees. The highest bid came for ‘Dawar 1’ at Rs 175 million (Rs 17.50 crore), followed by ‘Waziristan 1’ at Rs 40.6 million (Rs 4.06 crore) and ‘Bajaur 1’ at Rs 33.5 million (Rs 3.35 crore). The event reportedly brought in over Rs470 million across 30 plates, showing a high demand for personalized records that symbolize prestige and status.
As per the rules, the selected bidders had to submit full payment via crossed check within the stipulated time. Each participant had deposited Rs 100,000 as security to participate. However, the authorities confirmed that the winners of ‘Dawar 1’, ‘Waziristan 1’ and ‘Bajaur 1’ defaulted on their obligations. As a result, the Ministry of Taxation seized their security deposit and initiated recovery procedures.
Officials expressed frustration, noting that some bidders appeared to have made extravagant bids primarily for fame and social media publicity, only to disappear when payment was due.
This has bothered the department, which promoted the auction as a revenue-generating initiative for the provincial tax.
