In order to facilitate seamless transfer of vehicles, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has introduced a new registration mark for new vehicles- "Bharat series (BH-series)".
A vehicle bearing this registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another, a notification issued by the ministry on Friday read.
Format of Bharat series (BH-series) Registration Mark Format: - YY BH 4144 XX YY — Year of first registration BH- Code for Bharat Series 4- 0000 to 9999 (randomized) XX- Alphabets (AA to ZZ).
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As per the notification, this vehicle registration facility under "Bharat series (BH-series)" will be available on voluntary basis to Defence personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State Public Sector Undertakings and private sector companies/organizations, which have their offices in four or more States/Union territories.
“The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two. This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT. After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle,” the notification read.
The Ministry has also taken a host of citizen centric steps to facilitate mobility. An IT based solution for vehicle registration is one such effort. Station relocation occurs with both Government and private sector employees. Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of such employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state as, under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered, but a new registration with the new state- registering authority has to be made within the stipulated time of 12 months.
A passenger vehicle user takes the following steps to re-register a vehicle: (i) No Objection Certificate from the Parent State for assignment of a new registration mark in another state. (ii) Assignment of new registration mark after the road tax on prorata basis is paid in the new State (ii) Application for refund of the road tax in the parent State on pro rata basis. This provision to get refund from the parent State on pro rata basis is a very cumbersome process and varies from one State to another.