Port Blair, Jan 12: The Former State President, BJP, Shri Vishal Jolly has requested for relaxation and exemption to obtain fitness certificate of commercial vehicle without late fee through his letter addressed to Chief Secretary, A & N Administration.
In his letter he stated that as per the new Motor Vehicle Act 2021 the penalty or fine for not having a valid fitness certificate for a commercial vehicle is Rs. 50/- has been imposed per day by the transport authority while obtaining a fresh fitness certificate.
He pointed out that due to lockdown, COVID restriction and lack of awareness many commercial vehicle owners could not obtain fitness certificates of their vehicles in time resulting in huge late fees, which they are not able to bear as the commercial vehicle owners are already facing financial hardships during the lockdown period as the tourism and other commercial activities completely shut down considering the ongoing COVID pandemic. Thus the same has also affected their livelihood and they are not able to get the fitness of their vehicles due to such huge late fees.
Jolly also added that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) extended the validity of the motor vehicle documents till September 30, 2021, in view of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
He therefore requested that the fitness certificate expired before 1/2/2020, the late fee fine for the period from 1/2/2020 to 31/10/2021 may be exempted in the line of the MoRTH instruction which was extended on Motor Vehicle documents till 30th September, 2021 as a special ground for considering the present financial hardship face by the commercial vehicle owners.