HC quashes govt order about re-registration of outside vehicles

SRINAGAR — The Jammu and Kashmir High Court today quashed the Circular which was issued by the administration for the re-registration of the vehicles brought from outside States and operated in the Union Territory.

Advocate Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, who had filed the petition in the high court said the Division Bench of Justice Ali Muhammad Magray and Vinod Chatterji Koul quashed the order.

“Now as per the quashing of the order issued by RTO by the Hon’ble High Court, car owners with outside registration number can drive the vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir or in any other State. There is no need to re-register or pay any token tax,” he said.

While quashing the order of RTO Kashmir, the division Bench said ordered that the life time tax that is levied at the point of registration of a vehicle in terms of Section 3 of the Motor Vehicles Act, cannot be levied on a vehicle registered, merely on a presumption that a vehicle registered outside Union Territory of J&K, has remained in the Union Territory of J&K for a period exceeding 12 months.

The Bench ordered that the impugned Circular to the extent of asking the petitioners (car owners) to have their vehicles registered for assignment of new registration mark with without their declaration in tune with the mandate of Rule 54 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and without providing any mechanism, is quashed.

The LG administration had issued a Circular last month to re-register all those vehicles with outside registration numbers with the concerned RTO offices which caused suffering and panic to those people which had bought vehicles from outside States.

Car owners with outside registration numbers termed the high court judgment a big relief for them. Also, the Circular by RTO had hit the car business in Jammu and Kashmir.