Bharat Series/BH Series Number Plate- A Brief Intro
Relocating to another state or city in India is easy, but if you wish to take your vehicle along with you, then the process gets a little complicated. In India, re-registration of your motor vehicle in the city you move to is mandatory by law. The process of re-registering a vehicle is time-consuming, especially if you have transferable jobs. Keeping this in mind, in 2021 the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) launched the Bharat Series number plates across the country.
The introduction of Bharat (BH) number plates makes it easier for vehicle owners who often move to different states or cities for their jobs to take their motor vehicles along with them. With BH series number plates, vehicle owners no longer have to worry about re-registering their vehicles.
Continue reading to find information on the Bharat BH series number plate.
What is the BH Series Number Plate?
In August 2021, the Government of India (GOI) introduced the BH Series Number Plate for non-transport vehicles. Getting a Bharat Series number plate eliminates the obligation of transfer vehicle registration upon shifting to another state/city.
As per the Motor Vehicles Act, one can drive their vehicle with the old state number plate only for 12 months in the new state without transferring the registration. However, after 12 months, the vehicle owner will be required to transfer registration or face penalties. But with the newly launched BH series number plate, transfer of registration will not be required. It also helps in saving lots of time, effort, and paperwork while fostering economic growth and strengthening cooperative federalism.
Who can apply for a BH Series Number Plate/Registration Mark?
Applicants eligible for BH series registration include:
- Government employees (including state and Central Government employees, Defense sector personnel, Bank employees, and Administrative services).
- Employees working in the private sector with offices/branches in four or more States/UTs (working certificate in form 60)
- Ownership type- Individual purchasing New Non-Transport vehicle only.
How to Register for a BH Series Number Plate Online?
The BH series number plate registration process is completely digital and will only be done by the respective car dealer on behalf of the owner during the purchase of a new vehicle. The steps in the BH series number registration process include:
- The registration can be done by the dealer on the Vahan portal by filling up Form-20.
- Next, the dealer needs to select the number plate series type as Bharat Series.
- After this, the dealer will upload all the required documents such as the Working certificate (Form-60 for private sector employees)/Official ID card (govt. employees) along with other documents.
- Approval for the BH series online application will be done by the RTO.
- Pay online required fee/MV tax initially for 2 years.
- On successful registration, the Vahan 4 portal will generate a BH series number plate, which will be assigned randomly to the applicants.
Vehicles having the new BH series number plate will not be required to undergo the old complicated re-registration process while relocating to the new state/city. Earlier this facility was only available for new vehicles. However, now the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has announced that the vehicle with regular registration can also apply for the BH series number plate.
What is the Cost of getting a BH number plate?
The cost for obtaining the BH series number plate varies on the price of the vehicle and currently has three price slabs –
- For cars with invoice value below 10 lakhs, the applicant has to bear 8% of the total vehicle cost.
- For cars priced between 10-20 lakhs, applicants are required to pay 10% of the vehicle price.
- Lastly, for cars costing above 20 lakhs, vehicle owners will have to incur 12% of the total cost of the vehicle.
The BH series registration process is free for applicants. However, the applicants have to pay the mandatory tax levied for the respective vehicle category.
Documents Required for BH Series Registration
Applicants need to keep the following documents handy while applying for a Bharat Series number plate:
- Government employees are only required to submit a copy of their official ID card.
- Whereas, for private sector employees it would suffice to prove that their company has offices in four or more Indian States/UTs.
How to check the status of your BH registration application?
To check the status of your BH series registration application, follow the given steps.
- Visit the official Vahan 4portal at https://vahan.parivahan.gov.in/vahanservice/vahan/ui/appl_status/form_Know_Appl_Status.xhtml.
- You can either check your application status by entering your application number or vehicle registration number.
- Next, enter the Captcha verification code and hit submit.
- And view the status of your BH series registration process.
