Auctioning off “inheritable, transferable Premier Number Plates” is approved by Sindh

The Sindh government is planning to auction off inheritable and transferable “Premium Number Plates” for cars in order to raise up to Rs3 billion a year, following the introduction of CNIC-based vehicle registration and camera-readable number plates.

Several significant decisions were approved by the provincial cabinet meeting on Thursday, which was presided over by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. These decisions included the introduction of Premium Number Plates for automobiles, the allocation of Rs1.5 billion for the purchase of an MRI system for the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Sukkur, the extension of the deployment of Rangers in the Karachi division for an additional six months, and the release of Rs10.189 billion for the payment of retired civil servants’ dues.

Provincial ministers, advisors, Asif Hyder Shah, the chief secretary, and others were present during the meeting.

During the meeting, cabinet members were given a proposal by Sindh Minister of Excise and Taxation Department Sharjeel Memon to implement Premium Number Plates for automobiles.

At the moment, the department provides number plates for motorcycles, non-commercial vehicles, and commercial vehicles.

According to an official release, the department issued 71,645 choice numbers in 2021–2022 and made Rs44 million from the choice number charge mechanism.

Memon calculated that personalized option numbers may bring in between Rs2 and Rs3 billion annually if just 10% of drivers choose to use them.

Personalized property that can be inherited, transferability to another vehicle, Computerized National Identity Card-based registration, application to any private vehicle, reusable on any vehicle, customizable color shades for platinum numbers (apart from prescribed colors), and transferability to another CNIC for a prescribed fee are just a few of the distinctive features of premium number plates.

Premium number plates go into three categories: Platinum, Gold, and Silver.

“Platinum” number plates start at Rs. 2 million and can contain up to three characters.
“Gold” number plates start at Rs. 1 million and can contain up to five characters.
“Silver” number plates start at Rs50,000 and can include up to seven characters.

The plan, which called for auctioning off the choice-based license plates, was approved by the cabinet. The proposal also featured package deals for families and businesses, with reductions of up to 30%.

In 2020, the province administration of Sindh introduced camera-readable car registration plates with several cutting-edge security measures, and inhabitants of the state were given two options to register their automobiles using their CNIC number.