RTO to act against sale of vehicles sans registration

PUNE: The Regional Transport Office (RTO) has alerted automobile dealers within their jurisdiction not to sell vehicles without the registration number. Dealers were warned of suspension of trade licence if such vehicles ply on city roads. 

RTO had issued a notification a few days before Dussehra. According to the notification, under ‘The Central Motor Vehicle Act 1989, Rule 42, dealers cannot hand over a vehicle to a customer without the registration number.’ 

“The sale of vehicles without the registration number is against the law. The licence of erring dealers will be cancelled if they fail to comply. Our inspectors will seize vehicles without registration numbers,” said Vinod Sagre, Deputy RTO, Pune.

According to the official, during Dussehra, two prominent vehicle dealers had sold two-wheelers without the registration numbers and their trade licences were cancelled for a week. 

“We received complaints that some dealers allowed customers to take new vehicles home before the registration,” said Sagre.

However, the RTO is facing a staff crunch for the past one month. The inspectors are doing their regular work in the office and later check vehicles without registration numbers.

The RTO said that using an unregistered vehicle may result in several complications if it is stolen or meets with an accident.

“Some consumers insist with dealers to let them use vehicles on the basis of an affidavit. No law allows such an agreement. We request consumers to take vehicles home only after they are registered,” he said.

On condition of anonymity, a city-based two-wheeler dealer said, “Many customers want their vehicles on a particular day. We always tell them that we cannot sell without a registration number, but they don’t listen.”