The Union government has doubled the renewal charges for vehicles older than 20 years across India, excluding the National Capital Region (NCR).
As per a gazette notification issued Wednesday, renewal of registration will now cost:
- 2,000 for motorcycles over 15 years,
- 5,000 for three-wheelers,
- 10,000 for light motor vehicles,
- 20,000 for imported two- and three-wheelers over 20 years, and
- 80,000 for imported four-wheelers.
These amounts exclude GST. The hike, introduced through amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, follows a draft notification issued in February. The government hopes the higher fees will discourage the use of old, polluting vehicles.
In Delhi NCR, however, old vehicles are already barred following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that upheld the NGT ban on petrol vehicles over 15 years and diesel vehicles over 10 years. The apex court is currently re-examining the matter and has directed authorities not to take coercive action until further orders.
Aadhaar push for transport services
Since August, vehicle owners and driving licence holders have been receiving SMS alerts urging them to verify mobile numbers via Aadhaar authentication on the Vahan and Sarathi portals. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) says outdated contact details prevent citizens from receiving service alerts and statutory notices on time.
A July 4 memorandum stated that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been tasked with updating these details to ensure accurate communication.
However, digital rights group Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) has written to MoRTH, urging it not to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory. The group argued that Aadhaar-based authentication for transport services is voluntary under the Supreme Court’s 2018 K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India judgment and asked for alternative mechanisms to update mobile numbers.