The Union Road and Transport Ministry on Saturday introduced a new registration mark for new vehicles under the Bharat series (BH-series). Under this, vehicle owners would be exempted from the process of re-registering their vehicle if they shift from one state or union territory (UT) to another.
Under the new scheme, the vehicle registration facility will be available on a voluntary basis to the Defence personnel, employees of the Central government, State government, Central/ State Public Sector Undertakings and private sector companies or organisations, which have their offices in four or more states or union territories. This scheme, government said, will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across states/union territories of India upon relocation.
A passenger vehicle user re-registration is a multistep process that includes NOC from the parent state, assignment of new registration marks to a new state, new payments and refunds from the parent state. steps to re-register a vehicle:
These are the steps through which a person can register the vehicle under the Bharat series (BH-series)
Step 1: The owner of the vehicle would first need a ‘No Objection Certificate’ NOC from the parent state in order to assign a new registration mark in another state.
Step 2: Once the vehicle owner pays the road tax on a pro-rata basis, in the new state where they are shifting, a new registration mark will be given.
Step 3: In the third step, the owner of the vehicle needs to file an application asking for a refund of the road tax in the parent state. The provision of getting the money back from the parent state is a very long process.
What will be the format in BH-series?
The format of BH-series registration mark will be YY BH #### XX. YY denotes the year of first registration, BH is code for Bharat Series, #### is the randomised four digit number and XX are two alphabets, according to road transport ministry.
A vehicle bearing this registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one state to another, according to a statement from the ministry.
How much motor vehicle tax to be levied by states/UTs?
According to the notification, the motor vehicle tax levied by the state and union territories at the time of registration in respect to BH-series non-transport vehicle will be 8 per cent in case of vehicles costing up to Rs 10 lakh, 10 per cent in case of vehicles costing between Rs 10-20 lakh and 12 per cent in case of vehicles costing above 20 lakh. It further said that 2 per cent extra charge will be levied for diesel vehicles, while electric vehicles will be charged 2 per cent less tax. In case, where the vehicle bears BH-series registration mark, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied electronically.
What’s the present system?
Till now, under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person was allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle was registered, but a new registration with the new state- registering authority has to be made within the stipulated time of 12 months.
