Govt doubles registration renewal charges for vehicles older than 20 yrs

Motorcycles, cars, three-wheelers, and imported vehicles will now cost more to register

The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has raised the registration renewal fees for vehicles older than 20 years. The move aims to discourage people from keeping old vehicles on the road, news agency PTI reported.

 

• Light Motor Vehicles (LMVs) over 20 years old: Renewal fee doubled from ₹5,000 to ₹10,000

• Motorcycles over 20 years old: Renewal fee increased from ₹1,000 to ₹2,000

• Three-wheelers and quadricycles: Renewal fee raised from ₹3,500 to ₹5,000

 

Imported vehicles:

-Two- or three-wheelers: Renewal fee set at ₹20,000

-Vehicles with four or more wheels: Renewal fee set at ₹80,000

 

 

The draft amendment for these changes was issued in February and finalised on August 21. Earlier, in October 2021, the ministry had already raised registration and renewal fees for motorcycles, three-wheelers, and cars.   

 

SC offers interim relief to Delhi vehicle owners

 

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court granted temporary relief to owners of older petrol and diesel vehicles in Delhi. The court ordered that no coercive action be taken for four weeks against owners of diesel vehicles over 10 years and petrol vehicles over 15 years.

 

The Bench, comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria, was hearing a plea by the Delhi government. The state requested a review of the court’s 2018 order that banned older vehicles. The government asked the court to consider actual vehicle usage rather than just the manufacturing year when implementing the end-of-life policy.

 

Under current rules, diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are classified as “end-of-life” and are effectively barred from use. The Bench noted that historically, people often drove cars for 40-50 years.

 

The Delhi government argued that the ban lacks scientific evidence or environmental impact assessment. It highlighted stricter pollution-control rules, wider enforcement of the Pollution Under Control (PUC) system, and the nationwide adoption of Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms in 2020.

 

The government warned that even BS-VI-compliant vehicles could be forced off the road in a few years without scientific justification, causing undue hardship to residents whose vehicles meet PUC standards.   

 

Solicitor general seeks halt on coercive action

 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, requested the court to stop coercive measures such as vehicle seizure.

 

He said, “I have a vehicle I use only for commuting between my home and court. After 10 years, it will have just 2,000 km on the odometer. Another vehicle used as a taxi may clock 100,000 km in two years but continue running. Yet, I would have to sell my car simply because 10 years have passed.”

 

The court is set to hear the matter again after four weeks.

 

(With agency inputs)