Pollution control certificate for all vehicles made uniform across country

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification to make the PUC (Pollution Under Control) certificate for all vehicles uniform across the country and also to link the PUC database with the National Register.

After the changes in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 by the road ministry, the QR code shall be printed on the PUC form and will have details of the vehicle, owner and the status of the emission.

"The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification dated 14th June, 2021, for a common format of the PUC Certificate to be issued across the country, under Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989," an official statement said.

According to the statement, the new PUC will have vehicle owner's mobile number, name and address, engine number and chassis number.

"The owner's mobile number has been made mandatory, on which an SMS alert will be sent for validation and fee," it said.

The statement said the concept of rejection slip is being introduced for the first time.

"A common format of rejection slip is to be given to the vehicle owner in case the test result value is more than the maximum permissible value, as mandated in the concerned emission norms," the statement said.

It added that this document can be shown at the service centre for getting the vehicle serviced or can be used, in case the PUCC centre device is not working properly when tested at another centre.

As per the statement, if the enforcement officer has reason to believe that a motor vehicle is not complying with provisions of emission standards, he may communicate in writing or through electronic mode to direct the driver or any person in-charge of the vehicle to submit the vehicle for conducting the test in any one of the authorised PUC testing stations.

"If the driver or person in-charge of the vehicle fails to submit the vehicle for compliance or the vehicle fails to comply, the owner of the vehicle shall be liable for payment of penalty," it said.

The statement said that enforcement would be IT-enabled and would help in better control over polluting vehicles.

"If the owner fails to comply with this, the registering authority shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, suspend the certificate of registration of the vehicle and any permit granted, until such time a valid PUC certificate is generated," it said.