The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has issued an all-new 'BS' (Bharat Series) registration mark for the vehicles in the country. The apex body had proposed this new series on a national level a few months earlier. The biggest advantage of the BS number will be that the vehicle will not require a new registration even if the owner changes multiple states. However, the BS series will be strictly available for personnel of Defence, employees of State & Central government and a few other select companies.
As per the official notification issued by MoRTH, it can also be availed by employees of private companies who have offices in four or more than four States/Union Territories (UT). The BS series format will include the registration number of the vehicle, 'BH' lettering for Bharat Series and alphabets and numbers. The road tax will be charged for two years in multiple of two on the BS vehicles. The MoRTH notification reads, “After completion of the 14th year, the motor vehicle tax or road tax shall be levied annually, and it will be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.” Needless to say, it will ensure smooth movement of private vehicles across states and UTs post relocation to that place.
Presently, under the Section 47 of Motor Vehicle Act, an individual cannot keep a vehicle in another state for more than a year and it has to be registered again with the RTO in the new state. And, in order to do so, the person is required to get an NOC from the parent state so that the vehicle can now be registered in the new state. Post that, the vehicle is provided a new registration mark and the owner is asked to pay road tax on a pro-rata basis in the new state. After this, the owner needs to file an application for refund of the road tax in the parent state on a pro-rata basis. So, as evident from the aforementioned steps, it is quite a hectic and lengthy process.
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