Vehicle owners in India are set to experience a significant increase in fitness test fees, following new guidelines proposed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The intended changes specifically target older vehicles with the goal of improving road safety and reducing pollution.
Private cars that are more than twenty years old will now face a mandatory fitness test fee of ₹2,000. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses, if older than fifteen years, will see their certification costs soar to ₹25,000. These fee hikes come only a few weeks after the ministry raised charges for registration renewals.
Officials believe this move will discourage the use of ageing vehicles, pushing owners to opt for newer models that meet updated safety and environmental standards. Discussions are underway to require private vehicles to undergo routine fitness assessments starting at the fifteen-year mark, instead of relying solely on basic visual checks conducted at Regional Transport Offices. A phased rollout of automated, technical testing for passenger vehicles is also being explored to ensure more thorough evaluations.
Revised Fee Structure and Test Frequency
The draft policy outlines separate fee slabs for commercial vehicles at ten, thirteen, fifteen, and twenty years. Previously, commercial vehicles above fifteen years all paid the same amount for certification. Now, costs will double for those crossing the twenty-year threshold.
Current regulations require commercial vehicles to undergo fitness testing every two years up to eight years of age, with annual checks thereafter. Private vehicles are tested when registration is renewed after fifteen years and then every five years.
Road safety advocates have called for mandatory fitness checks for all vehicles, private and commercial alike, to begin earlier—some suggesting tests start as soon as ten years from the date of manufacture. The ministry’s revised approach is expected to reinforce the importance of maintaining safe vehicles on Indian roads.
Transition to Cleaner, Safer Vehicles
In the backdrop of these proposals, there has been a recent controversy surrounding the proposed ban on refuelling older vehicles in Delhi, which has now been postponed to November. Overall, the government’s strategy is clear—accelerate the transition to safer and less polluting transport by making the upkeep and operation of older vehicles increasingly stringent and costly.
