Punjab’s Number Plate E-Auctions – Questions and Observations

• Ahsan Tahir


• 18 Sep 2025

Through e-auction, vehicle owners can apply for custom registration numbers at a premium price.

The government rolls out new number plate series from time to time, which are then put up for online e-auctions. People register, place bids, and the highest bidder wins the right to use that number.

Normally, this process runs in an organized way. Registration remains open for a few days, giving everyone a chance to participate, and then bidding takes place for two days. Premium numbers, such as 001, 007, or 786, usually attract strong competition and fetch prices well above the base rate, generating healthy revenue for the government.

However, a recent situation has raised eyebrows.

The Strange Case of AXV-AXY and AYF-AYQ Series

In September 2025, a new series was introduced.

Normally, the government provides 2–3 days for registration, giving bidders enough time to sign up and ensuring everyone has a fair chance to participate.

However, this time, only the two series lineup, AXV to AXY and AYF to AYQ, were kept open for just one day.

In past auctions, one-day registration has been applied occasionally, but only for a very limited number of series. It is rare to see an entire series restricted to just a single day, making this case unusual. See the image gallery for a clearer idea:

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AYN-001 Got the Highest Bid of Only Rs. 10,000

Even more surprising, many premium numbers in this series were sold only at their base price. The strangest part was that the most premium number, AYN-001, went for just Rs. 10,000 — a number that usually attracts bids in the hundreds of thousands.

Numbers that usually go for much higher, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands, were awarded for just a few thousand rupees. For more information, have a look at the E-auction winner’s list, you will find all the series there with highest bid.

For instance, have a look at this July’s auction starting and ending bid:

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This is not only about July; previous batches in July also show the same trend, where bids ended with higher prices.

A Few Questions That Arise

This unusual pattern leaves us wondering:

• Why was registration abruptly restricted to just one day?
  
• Why did premium numbers suddenly fail to attract competition?

Why It Matters

When premium numbers sell at the minimum price, the government loses out on significant revenue.