The government on Sunday said it has extended the validity of various motor vehicles related documents or validity of vehicle documents till July 31. No additional or late fee will be charged for delays invalidation of documents pending from February 1, it said.
“In order to facilitate citizens during COVID—19, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has issued a statutory order prescribing that the fees paid on or after February 1, 2020, for the activity(s) including renewal (of documents) and in case such activity(s) is not completed due to conditions for prevention of Covid-19 pandemic, the fees paid shall continue to remain valid.
“It has also come to the notice of the Government that citizens are facing difficulties in respect of various fees/late fees as mandated under rule 32 and 81 of Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 due to lockdown in the country and closure of Government Transport Offices,” the Ministry of Road Transport Highways communique said.
“There are cases where the fees have already been paid, for the service or renewal, however, the process could not be completed due to lockdown. Further, there are issues where the citizen is finding it difficult to deposit fees due to closure of RTO offices”, the MoRTH communique said.
“The extension is welcome as it is still impossible for truckers to visit RTOs,” Abhishek Gupta, Joint Secretary, All India Transporters’ Welfare Association (AITWA), told CNBC-TV18.
“AITWA had highlighted on behalf of many members that the penalty being charged by system needs to be waived” he said.
Pursuant to the nationwide lockdown announced by the government in March, Earlier, MoRTH had issued an advisory on March 30 regarding extension of validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.
