New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) has increased the fees for vehicle fitness tests, especially for vehicles older than 20 years. This comes only a few months after the government raised renewal charges for old vehicles. The idea behind the new rules, issued on 11 November, is to slowly remove very old and polluting vehicles from the roads.
MoRTH has now created three age groups for fitness tests, 10 to 15 years, 15 to 20 years, and above 20 years. Earlier, commercial vehicles moved into a higher fee category only after 15 years, but now this will start at 10 years. This means more commercial vehicles will come under strict checks and higher fees.
What Are the Revised Charges
For light motor vehicles (LMVs) that are more than 20 years old, the fitness renewal fee has gone up from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000. The government hopes that higher charges will make people reconsider using old vehicles that may not meet safety or emission norms anymore.
The biggest jump in fees is for heavy commercial vehicles. Heavy trucks and buses that are over 20 years old will now have to pay Rs 25,000 for a fitness test, compared to the earlier Rs 3,500. Medium commercial vehicles in the same age group will be charged Rs 20,000. Light commercial vehicles above 20 years will have to pay Rs 15,000.
What about 2-wheelers?
Two-wheelers older than 20 years will also face a major hike. Their fitness fee has increased from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000. This change comes after an earlier notification in August, in which the ministry had already raised renewal charges for several types of vehicles.
There is some relief for people in the Delhi-NCR region. In August, the Supreme Court ordered authorities not to take any strict action against owners of diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years. However, this new fee structure makes it expensive to keep vehicles beyond 20 years, especially commercial ones.