Covid-19 crisis: Govt extends validity of vehicle documents till July 31

The government said on Sunday that it had extended the validity of various motor vehicle-related documents till July 31.

No additional or late fee will be charged for delays in the validation 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.

"And If there is a delay in paying the fees from 1st of Feb, 2020 till the period of lockdown there would not be any additional or late fee to be charged for such delays till 31st July 2020," an official statement said.

The ministry has earlier issued an advisory on March 30, 2020 to all regarding extension of validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989.

"It was advised that documents whose extension of validity could not or not likely be granted due to lock-down and which have expired since 1st of Feb, 2020 or would expire till 30th June 2020, Enforcement authorities were advised to treat such documents valid till 30th of June, 2020," an official statement had earlier said.

It has 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, it had 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, it said adding, further, there are issues where the citizen is finding difficult to deposit fees due to closure of RTO offices.