Transport department has informed all vehicle owners that under Section 55(1) and (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, owners of vehicles that have been destroyed or rendered permanently incapable of use must report the matter to the registering authority within fourteen days for cancellation of the registration certificate.
As per Sec 55(3), registering authority may cancel registration if satisfied that a vehicle is unfit, beyond reasonable repair, or unsafe for use in public places, after giving the owner an opportunity to present their case. The department noted that data from VAHAN database indicates many owners are not reporting such cases, leading to complications, including- a) tax arrears and defaults; b) non-compliance with MV Act provisions, including plying unregistered or non-renewed vehicles and c) use of unfit vehicles lacking fitness certification, pollution testing, insurance, or HSRP plates.
The department has given 30 days from the issue of this Office Memorandum for owners whose vehicle registration has not been renewed for five years or more to either renew their registration or apply for cancellation. Failure to do so will lead to cancellation proceedings, with vehicles presumed unfit and unsafe for public use.
Meanwhile, the department has also notified that offences under Section 177A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988—earlier not included under compoundable offences—have now been made compoundable following the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023.
According to the department, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, through notification dated January 13, 2025, brought into force the amendment listed at Serial No. 26 of the Schedule to the Jan Vishwas Act, thereby making Section 177A a compoundable offence by amending Section 200 of the MV Act.
In the interest of public safety, the department informed that Section 177A shall henceforth be treated as a compoundable offence under Section 200, and all officers empowered by the State government (vide Notification No. TPT/MV/09/2019 dated November 12, 2020) may compound violations under the amended provision.