Gauhati High Court Resume Small Car Sales In Assam

After much controversy, Gauhati High Court has finally allowed sales of sub-1,500kg cars which meet the crash test and emissions norms laid out by the Government. This decision reverses the court’s earlier order to stop registrations and sales of 140 different models from different car manufacturers. This decision comes as a huge relief for the auto manufacturers affected by the court's earlier ruling as they struggle to grow in a crowded market. Assam is the largest northeast market of the country recording almost 5,000 sales per month, which came to a rumbling stop after the court's previous order. The next court hearing in the case is scheduled on Thursday.

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Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) filed a petition challenging the decision taken by Assam state transport department which led to a ban on registration and sales of cars like Swift, Alto, i10, EON and Jazz. The petition pointed on the court’s ruling which said cars in India must meet crash test norms conforming to the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), which are as of now, not applicable in India. SIAM further in the petition said that all cars sold in the country are certified and have passed all crash, emission and other mandatory norms prescribed by the Motor Vehicles Act of India and have been tested by authorities like the Automotive Research Association of India.

The court on Wednesday said "There cannot be any prohibition restricting registration and sale of four-wheelers with a mass of up to 1,500 kg and quadricycles that have undergone the crash and emission tests conforming to the requirements and standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards and vehicles which have been certified by the statutory authority,"

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