Mangaluru RTO officer creates fake documents to register ₹2.5 crore Mercedes as ₹50 lakh model

A Mangaluru RTO officer created fake documents to register a ₹2.5 crore Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63 as a ₹50 lakh GLA 200 CDA, evading lakhs in taxes. The scam was exposed during a luxury car inspection in Mysuru, leading to an investigation.

Mangaluru: A government official has been exposed in a major fraud case involving the creation of fake registration documents for a luxury car worth several crores, falsely valuing it in lakhs to evade substantial taxes. The tax evasion scam, which involved manipulation of high-end vehicle records, took place at the Mangaluru Regional Transport Office, with a transport officer implicated in the fraudulent activity.

The car’s official documents were altered to significantly reduce the tax burden on a high-value luxury vehicle. The scam involved creating fake registration documents for a Mercedes-Benz car under the supervision of a transport officer, resulting in the evasion of lakhs of rupees in government taxes.

Luxury car's value reduced from ₹2 crore to ₹50 lakh on paper

Allegations have surfaced against Sridhar Mallad, a transport officer in Mangaluru, for facilitating tax evasion by altering the registration documents of a ₹2-crore car to falsely reflect a model worth ₹50 lakhs. This large-scale corruption came to light during an inspection of luxury vehicles in Mysuru. 

High-end Mercedes-Benz falsely registered as lower-value model

Fake documents were created for a Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63, fraudulently registering it as a Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 CDA. This major scam involved significantly reducing the declared value of the vehicle to evade a substantial amount of tax.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63, currently valued between ₹2 crore and ₹2.5 crore, was falsely documented as the GLA 200 CDA, which is worth around ₹50 lakh. This manipulation allowed the evasion of a large portion of the required taxes.

A vehicle worth ₹2.5 crore would typically incur taxes of approximately ₹50 lakh. However, a car valued at ₹50 lakh would require only ₹5–6 lakh in taxes. This massive discrepancy provided the motive for creating fake documents to save lakhs of rupees in tax payments.

Luxury car registered under fake model name to evade tax

The history of the luxury car involved in the scam is both detailed and revealing. A Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63, worth over ₹2 crore, was fraudulently registered under the name of a significantly cheaper model,  the Mercedes-Benz GLA 200 CDA, with the involvement of a Mangaluru transport officer. The original chassis and engine numbers were retained, but the car model was deliberately misrepresented.

Luxury car driven without proper registration for 8 years

Nihal Ahmed of Mangaluru purchased the Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63 in Bengaluru in 2017, which was issued a temporary registration number: KA51/TR005155/2016-17. Shockingly, the car was driven from 2017 to 2025 without ever being properly registered.

In 2025, the car was sold to Neeraj Kumar Sharma in Mangaluru. Before initiating the registration process in Sharma’s name, the Mangaluru RTO officer altered the documents. The vehicle was falsely shown as a GLA 200 CDA instead of the original AMG G 63, despite the chassis number (WDB4632722X261301) and engine number (15798460107755) remaining unchanged.

The fake documents were created at the Mangaluru RTO, but the registration was executed at the Udupi RTO, likely an attempt to avoid closer scrutiny. This fraudulent change helped reduce the tax liability by several lakhs.

The scam came to light during a routine inspection of luxury cars in Mysuru. Authorities flagged inconsistencies in the car’s documentation. The Transport Department has since seized the vehicle, blacklisted the registration certificate (RC), and launched a formal investigation under the supervision of the Joint Commissioner of the Shivamogga Division Transport Department.