India / Govt introduces new registration mark for vehicles for seamless transfer across states

New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has introduced a new “Bharat series (BH-series)” to facilitate the seamless transfer of vehicles.

According to the ministry,  a vehicle bearing this registration mark shall not require the assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one state to another.

"Government has taken a host of citizen-centric steps to facilitate mobility. An IT-based solution for vehicle registration is one such effort. However, one of the pain points in the vehicle registration process that needed attention was re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state," said the Ministry in a statement according to ANI. 

Earlier, when a passenger vehicle moves to another state, they have to re-register the vehicle within 12 months due to Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The process includes a no-objection certificate from the parent state for the assignment of a new registration mark, assignment of a new registration mark after the road tax on pro-rata basis is paid in the new State, and Application for refund of the road tax in the parent State on pro-rata basis.

This scheme will facilitate the free movement of personal vehicles across any state in India upon relocation to a new state.

These vehicles registered under the "Bharat series (BH-series)" will be available on a voluntary basis to Defense personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State Public Sector Undertakings and private sector companies/organizations, which have their offices in four or more States/Union territories.

The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two. After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax will be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.