The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on Sunday said it had issued an advisory to the States and Union Territories to extend the validity of vehicle-related documents, including driving licence, vehicle registration certificate and permits, till March 31, 2021.
In a statement, the Ministry said the decision was taken in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Similar advisories
The Ministry had issued similar advisories to extend the validity of documents related to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, on March 30, June 9 and August 24.
The validity of documents, including all types of permits and fitness certificates, were extended till December 31. The latest advisory said, “Taking into consideration the need to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it is further advised that the validity of all of the above referred documents may be treated to be valid till 31st March, 2021. This covers all documents whose validity has expired since 1st Feb, 2020 or would expire by 31st March, 2021.”
Distancing norms
The Ministry said the extension would help citizens in availing transport services while adhering to social distancing norms. The Ministry statement said the States and UTs were asked to implement the “advisory in letter and spirit so that the citizens, the transporters and various other organisations which are operating under this difficult time during the pandemic may not get harassed or face difficulties”.
