The government of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has raised nearly PKR 58.2 million through the auction of premium vehicle number plates, with 11 personalized plates sold in a single bidding round, officials said.
According to the KP Excise and Taxation Department, the highest bid was recorded for the number plate “Wazir-1”, which sold for PKR 15 million, followed by “Afridi-1” at PKR 14.05 million, “Khan-1” at PKR 11.1 million and “Peshawar-1” at PKR 10 million.
Other plates auctioned included “Haripur-1” for PKR 8 million, “Yousafzai-1” for PKR 4.9 million, “Durrani-1” for PKR 1.66 million, “Swabi-1” and “Malakand-1” at PKR 1.2 million each, and “Dera Ismail Khan-1” for PKR 1.1 million. The lowest bid was recorded for “Gandapur-1”, which sold for PKR 1.08 million.
Abbas Liaq, representing Peshawar Zalmi owner Javed Afridi, who secured the “Afridi-1” number plate at the auction, said the bid was driven by personal and tribal affiliation. “Since Javed Afridi belongs to the Afridi tribe, he was determined to acquire the number plate at any cost, which is why we continued bidding until the end,” he said.
Muhammad Hilal, the highest bidder for the “Wazir-1” number plate, told Nukta that his bid was motivated by tribal pride. “I love my tribe, which is why I wanted its number plate. My car is cheaper than the plate itself as my 2003 model vehicle is worth about PKR 2.3 million, while the number plate cost me PKR 15 million,” he said.
Abdul Haleem Khan, Director General of the Excise and Taxation Department, told Nukta that the primary objective of the auction was to give the public an opportunity to obtain customized vehicle number plates of their choice while generating revenue for the department.
“The price of a single auctioned number plate can exceed the registration fees of 30 vehicles, which means we are able to generate significantly higher revenue,” he added.
Khan said that previously, a vehicle’s number plate was permanently registered with the car and transferred along with it upon sale. However, under the customized system, the number plate is registered against the owner’s CNIC rather than the vehicle, allowing it to be transferred to another car.
Initially, two number plates bearing the name of former prime minister Imran Khan were expected to attract the highest bids but were withdrawn from the auction.
Responding to queries, DG Khan said that number plates named after prominent personalities or political figures were excluded due to the limitations of a physical auction.
“The government is planning to hold e-auctions for such number plates, allowing participation from overseas Pakistanis, which is likely to generate higher revenue,” he said, adding that all such names would be included in future auctions.
Khan further said that individuals seeking customized number plates bearing the name of a city, personality or tribe can submit an application to the department, and the request will then be processed through an auction, with a base price of PKR 1 million for each number plate.
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