The Centre on Tuesday asked states to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court's order on registration and sale of BS-IV vehicles.
The apex court had last week allowed the sale of BS-IV vehicles for 10 days, except in Delhi-NCR, after the ongoing countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic is lifted.
The court, which had earlier fixed the deadline of March 31, 2020 for sale of BS-IV vehicles across the country, had passed the order on a plea by Federation of Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA) seeking extension of time for clearing inventory amid the coronavirus outbreak and economic slowdown.
"The respective Transport Department of the concerned state/UTs would ensure meticulous compliance of the Supreme Court order," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways said in a letter to states.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta, which heard the matter on Friday through video-conferencing, made it clear that no BS-IV vehicles will be sold in Delhi-NCR from April 1, 2020.
It had said that only 10 per cent of the unsold inventory of BS-IV vehicles can be permitted to be sold during this 10-day period after the lockdown, which has been enforced since March 24.
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Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The BS-IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.
India has decided to switch to the world's cleanest petrol and diesel from April 1 as it leapfrogs straight to Euro-VI emission compliant fuels from Euro-IV grades now -- a feat achieved in just three years and not seen in any of the large economies around the globe.
The top court also said BS-IV vehicles which have already been sold but not registered due to the lockdown can be registered after the restrictions are lifted.
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