In yet another case of hefty fines being imposed under the updated MV Act, a brand new Honda Activa has been fined Rs 1 lakh by traffic policemen in Odisha. Not only the huge amount is shocking, but it’s also surprising because just a few days back Odisha state government had announced that it would defer implementation of the new rules by three months. Odisha government had said that it would first focus on creating awareness and provide time to people to get all the necessary documents.
Probably, the nature of violation in this case was such that traffic policemen treated it as an exception. The Activa was purchased on August 28 from Bhubaneswar and it was stopped by officials during a routine check-up in Berang area of Cuttack.
The officials found out that the scooter was being used without a registration number. This was a serious violation, which prompted the officials to seize the scooter and impose a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the dealer. This was as per the provisions mentioned in the amended MV Act.
RTO officials have recommended cancellation of license of dealership. Even in the old MV Act, it is the responsibility of dealerships to procure all documents before delivering the vehicle to customer.
Documents like insurance, registration number and pollution certificate have to be provided before delivery to customers. However, in this case, the mandated process was completely ignored by the dealership. The scooter was delivered to the customer without any documents, which is a serious offence.
It is not yet clear how much fine the customer will have to pay and how much the dealer will bear. Rs 1 lakh is almost twice the price of Activa and it would be certainly tough for the customer to bear such an expense.
Until now, dealerships have also been misusing Trade Certificates that are issued only for internal transportation of vehicles. These are not meant for use on vehicles delivered to customers. All new vehicles delivered to customers need to have either a temporary registration number of a permanent registration number.
Obtaining registration number is not a difficult task, which makes us wonder why dealerships continue to flout rules. Or is it just about old habits that die hard.
