Permit requirement for transport vehicles carrying oxygen exempted till Sep 30

The government on Tuesday announced that the permit requirement for transport vehicles carrying oxygen has been extended till September 30, 2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Government's step aims to ensure that there is smooth movement of vehicles for the supply of oxygen across the country. "We have approved the extension of exemption to the requirement of permit under Motor Vehicles Act 1988 to 30th September 2021 for vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders," Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a tweet.

The minister further said that this will facilitate inter-state and intra-state carriage and movement of oxygen and will also strengthen the country's fight against Covid-19.

Earlier, the permit requirement waiver was announced till March 31, 2021. The decision was taken because certain issues were brought to notice of the ministry about problems that were being faced by transport vehicles operators while carrying and transporting oxygen cylinders or oxygen tanks across the states or within a state.

The Ministry had also issued a notification - number SO 3204 (E) dated 21st September 2020 for exemption of Permit requirements as required under Section 66 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. This is because oxygen has been listed as an an important item required for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Further, a draft notification from the Road Transport and Highways Ministry talks about concession in motor vehicle tax in case the vehicle is registered against submission of "certificate of vehicle scrapping". The notification said that the concession in motor vehicle tax will be "up to 20 per cent in case of non-transport vehicles" and "up to 15 per cent in case of transport vehicles".