The validity of driving licences, vehicle registration certificates, fitness certificates, and all other types of permits that expired after February 2020 and could not be renewed due to restrictions imposed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic has been extended until September 30 by the Union government.
The road transport and highways ministry issued an advisory on Thursday cautioning transport departments against prosecuting motorists who use expired documents dating back to February of last year.
Driving without a valid licence carries a 5,000-dollar fine, while other invalid documents carry fines of 5,000 (registration certificate), 10,000 (commercial vehicle permit), and 2,000-5,000 dollars (fitness certificate for goods vehicles).
Officials clarified that expired Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates will not be extended.
The ministry has also created a new uniform PUC certificate format and mandated that all states link their PUC databases to the national register via another notification. The “One nation, One PUC” initiative eliminates the requirement to obtain new PUC certificates when moving to a different state, and all new certificates will include a QR code that contains information about the vehicle, its emission level, and its owner. If the emission exceeds the prescribed level, a rejection slip will be issued for the first time, allowing the vehicle to be serviced or used at other locations if the pollution-checking devices fail.
“…it is advised that the validity of all the referred documents, whose extension of validity could not or was not likely granted due to lockdown and which had expired since the 1st of Feb, 2020, or would expire by 30th September, 2021, the same may be treated to be valid till 30th September, 2021,” said the advisory. “All the states and Union Territories are requested to implement this advisory in letter and spirit so that the citizens, transporters and various other organisations, which are operating under this difficult time, may not get harassed and face difficulties,” it added.
Officials expect the Delhi transport department to issue a specific order in response to the Centre’s note. Following previous advisories, this is the sixth such extension.
People should not queue at Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Delhi unless they are applying for a learner or permanent licence for the first time, according to a transport department official. “Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, the ministry has extended the validity of fitness, permits, licences, registration, and other documents until September 30,” said the official, who did not want to be identified.
The state transportation department has been inundated with requests for driver’s licences, fitness certificates, and permit renewals, according to the department. The process of obtaining a driver’s licence can take up to two months. Before the pandemic, the RTO in Sarai Kale Khan, New Delhi, was one of the busiest transport offices in the city, conducting up to 250 driving tests per day on its semi-automatic driving test tracks. Every day, approximately 80 tests are conducted.
