Lok Sabha passes Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill

NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Motor Vehicle Amendment Bill 2016 that provides for the imposition of hefty penalties on auto companies found manufacturing faulty vehicles. The bill also seeks statuary guidelines for cab aggregators and a 10% annual increase in penalties for traffic rule violations.

The bill will now go to the Rajya Sabha.

The bill was tabled in parliament last year but was referred to a parliamentary standing committee. The Lok Sabha on Monday has passed the bill incorporating suggestions of the committee.

The government has also proposed specific timelines for processing insurance claims. Insurance companies will have to pay Rs 5 lakh to the family of accident victims within one month of the incident. In case of a road death due to engineering fault or pothole, the contractor will have to pay a penalty of Rs 1 lakh, according to the bill.

Auto companies found manufacturing faulty vehicles or misrepresenting emission norms will have to pay a fine of up to Rs 100 crore, according to the bill. The companies will also have to replace the faulty car or refund the entire money to the car buyer.

The bill also proposes a hefty fine for drink driving and suggests that the insurance company award no compensation if the driver involved was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.