Vintage registration only for 50-year-old cars, bikes; commercial vehicles avoided

Thiruvananthapuram: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), in the bid to preserve the heritage of vehicles, amended the Central Motor Vehicle Act. According to the new amendment, only 50-year-old two-wheelers and four-wheelers are eligible for vintage registration.

Other vehicles, such as lorries, buses, minivans and three-wheelers, were avoided from the list. Without the protection of vintage registration, these vehicles will have to be scrapped under the demolition law of old vehicles. All commercial vehicles have also been avoided from the list. They are often used for film shooting and many other purposes.

Strict restrictions are already in place for renewing the registration of vehicles, that are above 15-years of age. Vintage registration may not be possible if a vehicle owner fails to renew registration as valid registration certificate and insurance policy are mandatory for applying for vintage registration.

The registration fee for vintage registration is Rs 20,000 and is valid for a period of ten years. The renewal fee of vintage registration is Rs 5,000. In Kerala, the vintage registration format will be V.A.K.L  and the old registration number should also be displayed in the vehicles. The letters V and A represent vintage and K and L represent the state.

The vintage vehicles are not supposed to have the new high-security number plates. Imported vehicles will also get vintage registration. Vintage vehicles are only allowed to bring onto the public roads for rallies, shows, repairs, and refuelling. Transfer of ownership will be allowed.