No mandatory recall for vehicles with manufacturing defects: Govt

The companies currently voluntarily recall the models if some defects in them come to light, but there is no requirement for mandatory recalls in such cases, says Minister of State for Heavy Industries

The government has no proposal to ask vehicle manufacturers to conduct 'mandatory recalls' in the event of defects being found in a model, Parliament was informed today.

The companies currently voluntarily recall the models if some defects in them come to light, but there is no requirement for mandatory recalls in such cases.

Asked whether the government has any proposal in which "vehicle manufacturers may have to face mandatory recall rather than hiding behind voluntary recalls when a particular model is found to be defective", Minister of State for Heavy Industries G M Siddheshwara replied: "No".

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, he also said that the government was not considering bringing a legislation to make vehicle recall mandatory if 100 or more people complain about a particular defect in any vehicle model.

Incidentally, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in the draft Road Transport and Safety Bill 2015 had proposed a mandatory recall policy for vehicles, keeping the safety of vehicle users in mind.

The draft bill had even proposed that manufacturers should be liable to pay compensation for damage due to crashes caused by manufacturing defect in vehicles. It had also proposed levying penalties on vehicle makers for non- compliance in notifying manufacturing defects.

The Road Ministry had sought stakeholder comments on the draft Bill, which will be introduced in the Parliament after being approved by the Cabinet.

Currently, the automobile makers in India follow a voluntary recall policy under an initiative by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers that was introduced in July 2012.

Over 7 lakh vehicles have been recalled under the voluntary recall policy since July 2012.

Under the policy, which is applicable for all manufacturers, from two-wheelers to commercial vehicles, if a company is of the opinion that there is a manufacturing defect that compromises safety of vehicles, it will voluntarily rectify the problem free of cost to the customer.