Karnataka finally set to roll out BH series registration for vehicles

BENGALURU: The transport department on Tuesday issued a notification to begin Bharat (BH) series registration for new vehicles.

On August 26, the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MORTH) issued a notification on BH series, which came into effect on September 15. However, the transport department delayed its implementation.

In Tuesday’s notification, the department said: “MORTH has issued a notification to further amend the Central Motor Vehicle Rules for registration of non-transportation vehicles under BH series. Accordingly, permission is accorded [to do so] ...”

Rajender Kumar Kataria, principal secretary, transport department, told TOI, “The transport commissioner is expected to issue guidelines in a few days. Once it is done, those eligible for this scheme can register their vehicles under BH series. There will be some revenue loss for the state because we are now collecting lifetime tax. Under the BH series, we will be able to collect MV tax for only two years. But this scheme mainly helps those who have transferable jobs in multiple states.”

Many vehicle users in the state had launched a hashtag campaign #ImplementBHregistrationinKA on Twitter.

BH series is mainly to facilitate seamless transfer of vehicles from one state to another. It is also considered the preliminary step towards the Centre’s ‘one nation, one motor vehicle tax’ plan.

Around 15 states/UTs such as Odisha, Maharashtra, and Chandigarh have already implemented it. In fact, Odisha has registered the maximum BH series vehicles so far.

According to the Motor Vehicle Rules, a vehicle is not permitted to ply with another state registration number beyond 11 months from the date of migration. Otherwise, vehicle owners will have to re-register it from the parent state to the new one. However, it’s a cumbersome process.

How it works

BH series is applicable to defence personnel, employees of the government (both central and state), central and state PSUs, and private companies/organizations that have offices in four or more states/UTs.

Under the scheme, MV tax will be levied for two years or in multiples of two instead of the present one-time lifetime regime (15 years). After 14 years, the tax will be levied annually, which will be half the amount levied earlier for that vehicle.

A vehicle owner will have to apply by filling up Form 60 and furnishing employment ID/proof online. The transport authorities will verify this and assign BH registration online. The format of the number plate will feature the year of registration, BH code, followed by an alphanumeric suffix with four numbers and two letters. A vehicle registered in 2021, for instance, will have the registration plate ‘21 BH 0000 AA’.