The VIP number plate ‘HR88B8888’, which recently went viral for being sold at a record price of Rs 1.17 crore in Haryana, will now be put up for reauction. The bidder who secured the number failed to deposit the payment within the deadline.
Sudhir Kumar, Director of Transportation Service at Romulus Solutions Private Limited, had placed the highest bid for the fancy number plate. After two days of intense bidding, he won the number ‘HR88B8888’, making it the most expensive vehicle registration number ever sold in India. The last date to pay the bid amount was December 1 at 12 pm, reported NDTV.
However, Kumar said on Sunday that he could not complete the payment. He claimed that he tried twice on Saturday night to deposit the amount but failed because of a technical issue. He also added that his family was not comfortable with spending such a huge amount on a number plate.
He said discussions were still going on. “Family elders feel it is not a wise decision to spend so much money on a number plate, while I am in support of it. We will take a final decision by Monday,” he said.
How the Auction Works
Haryana conducts online auctions every week for VIP or fancy vehicle numbers. Interested buyers can apply for their preferred numbers between Friday 5 pm and Monday 9 am. Once applications close, the bidding starts and continues until Wednesday 5 pm. The entire auction is held online on the official fancy.parivahan.gov.in website.
This week’s biggest highlight was the number ‘HR88B8888’, which attracted the highest interest. A total of 45 people applied for it. The base price was set at Rs 50,000, but competitive bidding pushed the final amount all the way to Rs 1.17 crore.
What HR88B8888 Means
HR is the code for Haryana.
88 identifies the Regional Transport Office (RTO) where the vehicle will be registered.
B is the series code within that RTO.
8888 is the unique four-digit registration number.
The appeal of this plate comes from the way it looks. In uppercase, the letter B resembles the number 8. With four eights already present, the plate appears like a long string of repeated digits, making it especially attractive to buyers who value number patterns.
Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
