Re-registration rules proposed to be made simpler for passenger vehicles, while re-locating from one state to another

• New system of vehicle registration to be available on pilot test mode for Defence personnel, Central/State Govt employees, Central PSUs and private sector companies with offices in five or more states/UTs

The Ministry of Road Transport has issued a notification of draft rules, which would make it much easier for those shifting from one state to another to re-register their vehicles. The step comes in the context of several citizen-centric steps and an IT-based solution for vehicle registration taken by the government. However, one of the main points in the vehicle registration process that still needed attention was re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state.

Station relocation occurs with both, Government and private sector employees.  Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state, as under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988,while a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is originally registered, new registration with the new state-registering authority has to be made within 12 months.

A passenger vehicle user has to take these steps to re-register a vehicle:

(i) No Objection Certificate from the Parent State for assignment of new registration mark in another state
(ii) Assignment of new registration mark after the road tax on pro-rata basis is paid in the new State
(ii) Application for refund of the road tax in the parent State on pro-rata basis

The provision to get refund from the parent State on pro-rata basis is a very cumbersome process, which varies from one State to another.

With this background, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is proposing a new system of vehicle registration, wherein allocation would be marked as “IN” series- and this will be on pilot test mode. This vehicle registration facility under “IN series” will be available to Defence personnel, employees of Central Government, State Governments, Central/ State PSUs and private sector companies/organizations, which have their offices in five or more States/Union Territories. The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two. This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across any state of India upon relocation to a new state.

The draft rules have been placed on the website, inviting comments for 30 days from the date of notification, from the public/States/UTs before being finalized.