Considering the prolonged lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has announced the extension of the validity date of all motor vehicle documents by 30 September 2020. The central government of India has also issued an advisory to all the union territories and states.
Amid the worsening condition of coronavirus cases, the government has extended the validity of motor vehicle documents for the second time. The earlier extension was from 30 March to 30 June 2020. The documents include fitness certificate, state and national permits of all types, registration, driving license, registration certificate (RC), or any other document related to vehicles that can’t be granted due to nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
Ministry of Transport released a statement in which Nitin Gadkari said that based on the current situation of COVID-19, the government has granted an extension till 30th September for all the expired documents between 1 February to 30 September 2020.
No Additional Fees
Last month the government had also announced that no late or additional fees would be charged for any delay in the validation of pending documents due to the lockdown. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) also issued a statutory order that the fees paid for the validation of documents before or on 1 February will remain valid after the moratorium period gets over.
Also, any delay in the payment of fees from 1 February 2020 to 3o September will not attract any additional fees; the official statement read.
MoRTH has issued this gazette notification on 21 May 2020 to relax the fees validity or additional late payment charges under Rule 32, Rule 81 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The Ministry of Transport has also requested state and union territories to leverage provisions available under the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. The state governments can also use other provisions under different acts to offer relaxation for fees/ taxes, state permits, or penalty for renewal or permits among others during the extraordinary situation of COVID-19.
The extension in the validity of motor vehicle documents till 30 September 2020 is a crucial step by the government. It would help transport operators to keep millions of vehicles on the road that are servicing the supply chain of the nation. Aside, people using vehicles to commute for essential services can also take a sigh of relief among such troubling times.
