Overview
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways circulated a draft notification on Tuesday proposing that private BS‑VI vehicles up to six years old get a three‑year Pollution Under Control Certificate instead of the current one‑year validity.
- Under the draft, BS‑VI commercial vehicles up to six years old would get two‑year PUCC validity while BS‑VI vehicles aged 6–10 years would need annual checks and those over 10 years would require tests every six months.
- The proposal tightens checks for older, lower‑standard vehicles by requiring BS‑IV cars to renew PUCC every six months and BS‑I to BS‑III vehicles to renew every three months.
- The draft sets clear transition rules for when new validities apply, saying the revised periods take effect at the first renewal after the rules come into force and specifying how renewals done shortly before or after expiry are treated.
- The change leverages the cleaner baseline of BS‑VI standards introduced in April 2020 to reduce routine testing for newer cars, which could cut costs and trips to testing centres for owners while directing enforcement resources to higher‑emitters.