Battery-Operated Vehicles Exempted From RC Fees

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Tuesday said it has issued a notification to exempt battery-operated vehicles from the payment of fees for issue or renewal of registration certificate.

In a statement, the ministry said it has also exempted battery-operated vehicles from the payment of fees for the assignment of new registration marks.

A draft notification was issued on 31st of May 2021 inviting objections and suggestions. “Copies of the said Gazette notification were made available to the public on May 31, 2021; and whereas, no objections and suggestions were received from the public in respect of the said draft rules,” the Ministry statement said.

“Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 64 and section 211 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989,” the statement added.

The government added that these rules may be called the Central Motor Vehicles (Sixteenth Amendment) Rules, 2021 and they shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette.

Currently, electric vehicles account for only 1.3% of total vehicle sales in India. However, electric mobility is getting a major push from the central and state governments, with several states racing to release incentive-based EV Policies like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana to encourage e-mobility and investments in their respective states.