New registration rules for vintage cars / bikes: why it will be a relief for owners and collectors

A valid insurance policy, the entry invoice of the imported vehicle and, in the case of a vehicle already registered, the old RC copy will be required for re-registration.

Image used for representation

While last year we saw the project take shape for older vehicles and their re-registration process, 2021 sees it being implemented. Nitin Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways tweeted that

In the absence of existing rules to regulate the registration process in different states, the new rules must provide a hassle-free process as well as key features …

– Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) July 16, 2021

First of all, the definition of a vintage car or motorcycle in India is: “All 2/4 wheels, over the age of 50, kept in their original shape and not having undergone no substantial revision “. Form 20 will be used to register or re-register these beauties. A valid insurance policy, the entry invoice of the imported vehicle and, in the case of a vehicle already registered, the old RC copy will be required for re-registration. If the vehicle in question has never been registered, the RTO will provide the owner with a new registration number, in which the registration mark will be assigned as “XX VA YY8”, where VA means vintage, XX means State Code, YY will be a series of two letters and “8” is a number from 0001 to 9999 assigned. For a new registration, the fees will be Rs 20,000 while, for the renewal, they will be Rs 5,000.

The rules also state that vintage vehicles should not be used for regular or commercial purposes. This point is a bit unclear because owners usually have other modern vehicles for their trips or household chores. These old beauties are kept as part of their hobby, affection or entertainment collection. However, in some vintage car rallies these vehicles are driven back and forth. If the aforementioned rule also includes this, owners will have no choice but to transport their vehicles in trucks. There is no provision mentioned on classic cars / bikes yet.

We checked with a few vintage car collectors and they seemed pretty happy with the new rules in place. Bob Rupani, one of India’s most respected and experienced automotive journalists, and historic car enthusiast said this about the new rule.

“This new notification which entered into force on July 16, 2021, fortunately, contains special provisions for old vehicles over 50 years old, the most important being that they will not fall under the scope of the future, new scrapping policy I think these are very welcome steps taken by the Department of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) and I thank them on behalf of all car enthusiasts.

I am also very happy that the threat posed by the old and classic car scrapping policy brought the historic car community together like never before, and on April 16, 2021, they made a detailed joint statement to the ministry, which was signed by 45 different automobile clubs, museums and eminent personalities of the movement, as well as certain deputies (deputies). An online petition was also launched and it had the support and signatures of over 10,000 petitioners in a matter of days, and I have a feeling that is all that led to the new rule amendments.

This also means that there is now no obligation for vintage motor vehicles (two-wheelers and four-wheelers) to re-register if they are already registered with their respective state RTOs. . They can keep their current registration and are also exempt from the requirement to install new registration or high security plates. The other significant change is that previously it was proposed to have a committee that would include government officials and representatives of private clubs to certify a vehicle as vintage and of historical value. This provision which could have led to discrimination and favoritism is now abandoned and online self-certification by the owners of these older vehicles will suffice.

Another nice thing is that vintage vehicles over 50 years old can now be used on public roads for all private purposes, instead of being limited to rallies and special events as was previously offered. But they are not intended to be used as daily drivers for daily transport, which is perfectly fine, as the owners do not use them on a daily basis anyway.

50-year old vehicles are not only exempt from the new scrapping policy, but will also not need a Certificate of Fitness or PUC certificates, as these may require modifications to the vehicle. , which would compromise its originality. While a lot has been accomplished, there are a few other things that I wish had happened. While vintage vehicles can be used for “personal use”, the new law clearly states that there can be no “commercial use”. This means that if someone donates their vehicle for use in a movie or advertisement, or even for a wedding or special occasion, the owner cannot claim any financial compensation. I think it is unfair. In the event that it is used by someone, the owner should not be denied the right to obtain compensation, especially when the government itself donates a lot of our historic monuments for film shoots, and charges a fee. high price for it.

The joint representation to the ministry had requested that vehicles between the ages of 30 and 50 should also be recognized as modern classic or classic vehicles as is done in many other parts of the world and that they also benefit from exemptions similar to those of 50 years. -old vintage vehicles. Unfortunately, that did not happen and now all of these cars including the iconic Maruti SS 80 which started the automotive revolution in India are in danger and face a serious threat.

I ask our government to please consider this matter as a matter of priority, as these 30-50 year old vehicles are also an important part of our automotive and manufacturing heritage, and so the few that have survived the aging process and the test of time are also scrapped, it will indeed be a dark day in India’s automotive history ”.

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