The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued an exemption from RC issuance and renewal fee for battery-operated vehicles. With the FAME II incentive granted to potential buyers, the promotion of the electric vehicle sector has been at an all-time high. People are considering switching to electric vehicles given the rising fuel prices.
We’ve covered everything there is to know about electric vehicles and MoRTH’s efforts to encourage EV sales. With the installation of a large number of charging stations, to subsidies, they are on a roll. Currently, electric vehicles account for only 1.3% of total vehicle sales in India. However, several states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Telangana have amped their EV policies and offer purchase incentives to bring down the upfront cost of EVs. The Ministry issued a draft notification proposing the exemption of BOVs on May 27, 2021, when comments from the general public and stakeholders were sought within 30 days from the date of the draft notification.
Central Motor Vehicles Rules
The government added that these rules may be called the Central Motor Vehicles (Sixteenth Amendment) Rules, 2021 and they shall come into force on the date of their publication in the official gazette. Similarly, in October 2020, Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot informed that the Delhi government has exempted all BOVs from registration fees under its electric vehicle policy.
Official Statement
“Copies of the said Gazette notification were made available to the public on May 31, 2021; and whereas, no objections and suggestions were received from the public in respect of the said draft rules,” the Ministry statement said. “Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred by section 64 and section 211 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules further to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989,” the statement added. Moreover, the Ministry also said that “This has been notified to encourage e-mobility,”
This means that the on-road prices of electric vehicles are going to reduce further as the RTO charges will go down. These efforts of MoRTH to promote the adoption of EVs are truly commendable.