Planning to Relocate? Vehicle Owners May Get 3 Years Before Re-Registration Under Draft Motor Vehicles Act
Planning to Relocate? Vehicle Owners May Get 3 Years Before Re-Registration Under Draft Motor Vehicles Act
Draft amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act aims to reduce paperwork and make interstate relocation easier for employees, students and families.
By Vidhi Lalla
Pune: If you move to another state for work, studies or a temporary assignment, you may soon be able to keep your vehicle there for up to three years without changing its registration number.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed amending the Motor Vehicles Act to extend the period during which a vehicle can remain in another state without re-registration from the current one year to three years. The proposal, part of the government’s “ease of living” initiative, was recently placed before an informal Group of Ministers (iGoM).
What is the current rule?
Under Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, if a vehicle registered in one state remains in another state for more than 12 months, the owner must apply for fresh registration in the new state. The process often involves obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC), paying applicable road tax, completing fresh registration formalities and, in many cases, reversing the process when returning to the original state.
What will change?
If the draft amendment is approved, vehicle owners will be allowed to use their existing state registration for up to three years while living in another state. Officials said the proposal is aimed at people who expect to return to their home state after completing a temporary posting or assignment.
“The proposal aims at helping people who plan to come back to their home state after 2-3 years of completing an assignment. Re-registration of a vehicle in a new state and revoking it after returning to home state is a hassle for people,” an official said.
Who stands to benefit?
The proposed reform is expected to benefit:
- Employees in transferable government and private sector jobs
- Professionals on long-term projects or contractual assignments
- Students pursuing higher education in another state
- Defence personnel and public sector employees
- Families relocating temporarily for employment
For these groups, the amendment could mean less paperwork, lower compliance costs, fewer visits to Regional Transport Offices (RTOs), and no need to repeatedly change registration when moving back home.
The proposal will also complement the existing Bharat (BH) Series registration system, which already allows eligible vehicle owners to use their vehicles across states without re-registration. However, the new amendment would extend similar convenience to many vehicle owners who are not eligible for BH registration.
Experts seek broader reforms
While welcoming the proposal, transport experts believe it addresses only part of the larger issue.
Former Joint Secretary (Transport) Abhay Damle said, “The larger issue is the wide disparity in road tax across states.” He suggested that harmonising road tax rates, along with a seamless transfer mechanism through the Vahan portal, would provide a more permanent solution for interstate vehicle movement.
The draft amendments also propose requiring states to appoint adjudicating authorities and establish electronic systems for compounding traffic penalties within six months, following the decriminalisation of several offences under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The proposal has generated positive reactions online, with many users calling it a long-overdue:
“It’s a good move. This will imensely help people who temporarily migrate to a new state for job or other work. To be honest, I frankly don’t understand why we need to register in the new state at all? It’s one country, Why not allow to remain in any state with the vehicle”, said a user.
Another ‘X’ user stated, “This has to be extended to life of vehicle, with some seamless checks and balances (especially vehicle tax(es) arbitrage folks). The mobile crowd, typically, are tax payers and this can be a real way to say ‘thank you’.”
Several argued that temporary relocation within one country should not require repeated registration changes, while others suggested eventually eliminating interstate re-registration altogether through a unified national system.
