New Delhi: In the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the validity of expiring driving licences and motor vehicle documents has been extended till 31 December, government said on Monday. The earlier extension was made till 30 September.
This is the third such extension after the earlier advisories on 30 March and 9 June.
“Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has decided to extend the validity of Fitness, Permits, Licenses, Registration or other documents under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 till the 31st of December 2020. The Ministry had earlier issued advisories on 30th March and 9th June this year regarding extension of validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. It was advised that the validity of Fitness, Permit (all types), License, Registration or any other concerned document(s) may be treated to be valid till 30th of September 2020,” the ministry said in an official statement.
MoRTH said the decision was taken because of the existing conditions in the country to prevent spread of Covid-19. This step of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is likely to help out the citizens in availing transport related services, the ministry said.
“Taking into consideration the situation still continuing due to conditions for prevention of spread of COVID-19 across the country, it has further advised that the validity of all of the above referred documents whose extension of validity could not or not likely be granted due to lock-down and which had expired since 1st of Feb, 2020 or would expire by 31st Dec 2020, the same may be treated to be valid till 31st of December 2020. Enforcement authorities have been advised to treat such documents valid till 31st of December 2020,” the ministry further said.
“To reduce inconvenience due to the following of social distancing norms during COVID-19 outbreak, MoRTH has issued an advisory to all state governments to further extend the validity of the documents related to Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989, such as Fitness, Permits (All Types), Driving License, Registration or any other concerned documents until 31st of December 2020,” Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet.
The ministry also urged all states and union territories to implement the letter in spirit so that the “citizens, transporters, various other organizations which are operating under this difficult time may not get harassed and face difficulties”.
