New guidelines for old vehicles registration renewal

The Bihar government has announced new norms for the renewal of registration of private vehicles that are more than 15 years old. According to a senior official of the transport department, the old vehicles will now need the approval of the department for renewing their registration. The new norms aim to ensure that the old vehicles meet the safety and emission standards and do not pose a threat to the environment and public health.

The new norms require the vehicle owner to present the vehicle and the documents to the district transport officer (DTO) and the motor vehicle inspector (MVI) for a joint inspection. The DTO and MVI will then send the application to the department for the final decision. Previously, older vehicles could get re-registration after only the MVI inspected the vehicle and verified the documents. The DTO had the final authority to accept or reject the re-registration.

New office and video recording for joint inquiry

A senior officer of Patna DTO said that vehicle owners should come to the new office near Phulwari Sharif Camp Jail at 11am for the joint inquiry by DTO and MVI. He added that the whole process will be recorded on video and that only private and non-commercial vehicles were eligible for renewal of registration.

He also clarified that vehicles registered later and having smart cards for registration instead of registration certificate (RC) book did not need this process as the MVI could do it by himself. He said that there were around 3 lakh vehicles that still operated on the RC book.

New system starts from Monday

The new system will start from Monday, August 7, 2023, after three days (August 3-5) of initial trial. The vehicle owners will have to pay appropriate fees as specified in Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 and submit an application in Form 25 along with other documents such as pollution under control certificate, fitness certificate, insurance certificate, copy of PAN card or Form 60 & Form 61 (as applicable), chassis & engine pencil print, and signature identification of owner .

Alignment with central government initiatives

The new norms are in line with the Bharat series (BH-series) vehicle registration introduced by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which allows tourists to apply for an all-India permit online for their vehicles. The BH-series registration is valid for 15 years and can be renewed for another 10 years. The ministry has also launched a new vehicle recall portal to enable manufacturers to voluntarily recall defective vehicles and rectify them free of cost.

Compliance and penalties

The transport department has urged the vehicle owners to comply with the new norms and renew their registration in time. The department has also warned that any violation of the norms will attract penalties under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 .