Deadline for mandatory fitness testing of heavy goods, passenger vehicles extended till Oct 2024

The government has extended the date of mandatory fitness testing through a registered Automated Testing Station (ATS) for heavy goods and passenger motor vehicles by 18 months to October 1, 2024.

The Ministry of Transport has also notified that individuals can send objections or suggestions in respect of the said draft rules to the additional secretary of the Transport Ministry within the next thirty days. However, no suggestions will be accepted beyond that period.

The Ministry clarified in its release that the regulations will be valid “for Heavy Goods Vehicles/Heavy Passenger Motor Vehicles, Medium Goods Vehicles/ Medium Passenger Motor Vehicles and Light Motor Vehicles (Transport) with effect from 01st October 2024 onwards.”

A Fitness Certificate (FC) is a document that certifies that the vehicle is fit enough in all aspects to ply on roads. A new vehicle comes with a Fitness Certificate valid for a certain number of years, but one needs to renew the FC to comply with the rules and regulations of The Motor Vehicles Act.

This mandate has been released with the aim to scrap older vehicles, sources from the Ministry revealed.

One can apply for the vehicle fitness certificate either online or make the application at the regional office. One can visit the website of Parivahan Sewa to make the application through an online portal. You can apply for the same online by filling up the vehicle fitness certificate form and then visiting your zonal Regional Transport Office (RTO) to provide the remaining documents.

However, the period of validity of the fitness certificate will vary for different vehicles. So according to that, their eligibility to apply for a fitness certificate RTO also differs.

According to the Motor Vehicle Act, 1989, failure to produce a fitness certificate levies a fine of Rs. 100  for the first offence. The amount increases to Rs. 300 for the subsequent offences. The fine for not having a valid vehicle fitness certificate ranges between Rs. 2,000 and Rs. 5,000.

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