The real price of a Tata Harrier

The real cost of a Tata Harrier? ₹13.5 lakhs. But by the time the keys are in your hand, you’ve shelled out ₹25 lakhs. How does a vehicle priced at ₹13.5 lakhs turn into a 25-lakh purchase?

The moment you step into the buying process, you’re hit with multiple layers of GST, cess, and state taxes. SGST and CGST alone add up to ₹3.78 lakhs, with another ₹2.7 lakhs in GST cess. But it doesn’t stop there: road tax and registration eat up another ₹3.8 lakhs. You even end up paying ₹19,990 for “TCS on sales consideration”—a tax on top of taxes.

Every step in the process is designed to chip away at your budget until the final price is nearly double the base amount. It’s not that the car costs 25 lakhs; it’s that the system makes it so. When you walk out with the keys, you’re not just driving home a car—you’re carrying a load of hidden taxes and fees that ballooned the price beyond recognition.

How much does your car actually cost? Send me an analysis and I’ll publish it here.