Thiruvananthapuram: Vehicle owners in Kerala can reduce their pollution certificate fine from ₹2,000 to ₹250 if they submit a valid pollution certificate within seven days of the fine being imposed. The certificate must be presented to the officials who issued the fine. This provision is part of the Central Motor Vehicles Act.

If a vehicle owner cannot provide the smoke test certificate during an inspection, they are granted a seven-day grace period. It is sufficient to conduct the test and submit the certificate within this timeframe. As the smoke test process is online, the certificate will be uploaded to the ‘Parivahan’ website.

Once uploaded, the owner can approach the officials to get the fine reduced. If the certificate is not submitted within seven days, the full fine of ₹2,000 must be paid.

Offenses that can lead to cancellation of registration

Apart from imposing fines, authorities have the power to cancel a vehicle’s registration if it does not comply with pollution standards. However, instead of taking this strict action, officials are opting to settle cases by imposing fines.

According to Section 190 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (MVA), driving a motor vehicle in a public place that violates road safety, noise control, or air pollution standards is punishable by law, with the penalty for a first offence being a fine and for subsequent offences, a higher fine may be imposed.