Govt proposes age limit extension for EVs, hydrogen and CNG-powered vehicles

The Centre has proposed extending the prescribed age limit for battery-operated, hydrogen fuel-based and natural gas-driven vehicles by five years, according to draft amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Tuesday.

The proposed changes are part of draft rules published on August 10, with the government inviting objections and suggestions for 30 days. The rules will come into force only after their final publication in the Official Gazette.

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Under the draft, the age limits specified for battery-operated vehicles, hydrogen fuel-based vehicles and vehicles powered by natural gas would be extended by five years. The notification, however, does not specify the resulting maximum permissible age for each category of vehicle.

The said proposal comes to rule 88, in sub-rule (3) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 which provides that a national permit becomes invalid once a goods carriage completes 15 years in the case of a multiaxle vehicle and 12 years for other goods carriages, unless the vehicle is replaced. The rule clarifies that this age is calculated from the date of initial registration of the vehicle, or from the date of initial registration of the prime mover in the case of an articulated vehicle.

The fresh proposal also seeks to allow national permit authorisations to be granted electronically for a period of up to five years at a time, at the option of the applicant. The fee would be Rs 16,500 for each year of the authorisation, to be deposited in the national permit account.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has also proposed making the national permit process more digital with applications in Form 46 to be made electronically, while authorisations in Form 47 to be granted electronically.

The draft rules further propose changes to temporary vehicle registrations as well. Temporary registration for a chassis without a body would be valid for six months from the date of issue. If the chassis remains in a workshop beyond six months for body fitting, or due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the owner's control, the registering authority may extend the validity by 30 days at a time.

For fully built vehicles being converted into adapted vehicles or being registered in a state other than the state where the dealer is located, temporary registration would be valid for 45 days.

The government plans to bring eligible automotive component manufacturers within the scope of provisions relating to trade certificates. Such manufacturers would have to be approved by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and be involved in research and development for developing new products for the automotive industry.

Several changes have also been proposed to digitise vehicle-related documentation.

Details in certain applications would be automatically fetched from the VAHAN portal once a dealership authorisation certificate or vehicle registration number is provided. The revised forms would also capture details such as GST registration number, PAN, Udyam Aadhaar and Corporate Identification Number for dealers, where applicable.

For vehicle owners, the draft proposes specifying an Aadhaar-linked mobile number in Form 20. It also proposes recording agreement or loan account numbers in documents relating to hire-purchase, lease or hypothecation arrangements.

The proposed changes to Form 48 would require details of a vehicle's valid registration, insurance, pollution under control certificate and fitness certificate, along with pending challan history and details of any previously held national permit.