Govt proposes PUC rules change: BS-VI vehicles may get 3-year certificate validity

The government has proposed extending the validity of Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates for Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) vehicles to ease the burden on owners.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in a draft notification, said PUC certificates for BS-VI non-transport vehicles will remain valid for three years from the date of first registration for vehicles up to six years old.

Under the proposal, BS-VI vehicles aged between six and ten years will be required to renew their PUC certificate annually and those above 10 years every six months.

For BS-VI transport vehicles, the certificate will be valid for two years from the date of first registration for vehicles up to six years old. The validity will be reduced to one year for vehicles between six and 10 years old and six months for vehicles older than 10 years.

What remains unchanged under draft rules?

The existing validity periods for older vehicles have been left unchanged under the draft rules.

PUC certificates for vehicles complying with BS-I, BS-II and BS-III emission norms will remain valid for three months, while BS-IV vehicles will continue to require renewal every six months.

What are Bharat Stage emission norms?

BS, or Bharat Stage, refers to India’s vehicle emission standards that set limits on pollutants, such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter (PM).

The standards are aligned with European emission norms and are enforced to gradually phase out vehicles that emit higher levels of pollutants.

BS-IV was applicable from 2017 to 2020. BS-VI has been in force since April 2020.

India skipped BS-V and moved directly to BS-VI to accelerate pollution control. These vehicles emit far lower pollutants and require low-sulphur BS-VI fuel.

When will revised validity periods take effect?

PUC certificates issued before the new rules come into force will continue to remain valid under the existing rules. The revised validity periods will apply only when these certificates are renewed for the first time after the amended rules take effect.

If a PUC certificate is renewed within 10 days before its expiry, the renewed certificate will take effect from the expiry date of the existing certificate.

In all other cases where renewal is sought after expiry, the renewed certificate will become effective from the date of renewal.

The ministry said objections and suggestions on the draft rules may be submitted within 30 days from the date the notification is made available to the public, after which they will be considered before the rules are finalised.