GOVERNMENT INTRODUCES ‘BH’ REGISTRATION SERIES FOR PERSONALISED VEHICAL TO ALLOW SEAMLESS TRANSFER ACROSS STATES

 

The Indian government has come up with a new service to ensure hassle free State/Union Territory move for car and vehicle owners. Public and private sector employees who have been working a transferable job can now breathe a sigh of relief on one aspect of relocation. The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has introduced a novel registration mark that is called Bharat series (BH-Series).  

"This vehicle registration facility under 'Bharat series (BH-series)' will be available on voluntary basis to defence personnel, employees of central government/State government/central/State public sector undertakings and private sector companies/organisations, which have their offices in four or more States/Union Territories," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in a statement.

The statement further said that an IT-based solution for vehicle registration is one such effort as “one of the pain points in the vehicle registration process that needed attention was re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state”.

The MoRTH through a "notification dated 26th August 2021, has introduced a new registration mark for new vehicles i.e. 'Bharat series (BH-series)'. A vehicle bearing this registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one state to another", the statement further explained.

Who can avail this service?

As per the first post news article, The vehicle registration facility under 'Bharat series (BH-series)' will be available on a voluntary basis to defence personnel, employees of central government/ state government/ central/ state public sector undertakings and private sector companies/organisations, which have their offices in four or more states/union territories," the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) said in a statement.

This only applicable to new vehicles

What is different?

The format of BH-series registration mark will be YY BH #### XX. YY denotes the year of first registration, BH is code for Bharat Series, #### is the randomised four-digit number and XX are two alphabets.

In case, where the vehicle bears BH-series registration mark, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied electronically.

The registration mark for BH-series vehicle will be generated randomly through an online portal.

Additional charges:

Eight percent motor vehicle tax will be levied on non-transport vehicles costing under Rs 10 lakh; 10 percent on vehicles costing between Rs 10-20 lakh; and 12 percent on vehicles costing above Rs 20 lakh.

An additional 2 percent extra charge will be levied if you own a diesel vehicle.

Electric vehicle owners will get a tax rebate of 2 percent in their respective category.

Current laws for interstate vehicular movement:

At present, a person is allowed to keep a vehicle for a maximum of a year in any state other than the state where it is registered. The owners have to get such vehicles re-registered before the expiry of 12 months.

For re-registration, vehicle owners require a no-objection certificate from the home state and then can apply for the assignment of a new registration mark in another state.

Also, the assignment of the new registration number is done after the road tax on a pro-rata basis is paid in the new state.