Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashes order asking for re-registration of outside vehicles

Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday quashed the government circular that had asked vehicle owners with outside registration numbers to re-register their vehicles and pay road tax afresh.

A Division Bench of the J&K high court comprising Justice Ali Muhammad Magray and Justice Vinod Chatterji Koul on Thursday quashed the circular issued by the regional transport officer (RTO) that required re-registration of vehicles with outside J&K registration numbers and also asking for payment of fresh road tax.

Advocate Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, who appeared for the petitioners seeking quashment of RTO’s circular, told reporters, “As per the quashment of the order issued by RTO by the hon’ble high court, vehicle owners with outside registration numbers can drive the vehicles in Jammu and Kashmir or any other state.

“There is no need to re-register or pay any token tax”.

The high court order said that the life time tax that is levied at the point of registration of a vehicle in terms of section 3 of the motor vehicles act cannot be levied on a vehicle registered merely on a presumption that a vehicle registered outside the union territory of J&K has remained in the union territory of J&K for a period exceeding 12 months.
The order issued by the RTO had affected the local car market adversely. The owners of vehicles with outside registration numbers have described the high court order as a great relief to them.