- BH-series can be availed voluntarily by defence personnel, PSUs, and private sector companies with offices in four or more states

- Facilitates seamless transfer of vehicles

The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways has introduced the new ‘BH’ registration series, where ‘BH’ stands for Bharat. The transport ministry has announced that the vehicles bearing this registration mark will not require re-registration in other states, thereby ensuring seamless transfer of vehicles. For the uninitiated, the ‘BH’ vehicle registration series can be availed voluntarily for vehicles owned by the defence personnel and employees of the state and central government. The facility is particularly helpful for such individuals who have a high possibility of being transferred frequently to other states or union territories within the country.

Additionally, private sector companies and organisations that have their offices in four or more states/union territory can opt for the Bharat series (BH-series). Under the current regulatory norm, the vehicle owners are required to pay an upfront road tax for 15 years. In such cases, if an individual chooses to transfer and re-register their vehicle to any other state, the owner is required to pay the road tax for the remaining years, and reclaim the paid amount for the remaining period from the state where the vehicle was originally registered.

The motor vehicle tax levied by the states or union territories at the time of registration in respect to BH - Series non-transport vehicles are as follows –

Cars below Rs 10 lakh (invoice price) – eight per cent of road tax

Cars costing between Rs 10 - 20 lakh (invoice price) – 10 per cent of road tax

Cars costing over Rs 20 lakh (invoice price) – 12 per cent of road tax

It is worth noting that an additional two per cent road tax is applicable for diesel cars, while electric cars will be charged two per cent lower than the regular tax structure. The road tax will be levied biannually, wherein the owner is required to pay motor vehicle tax every two years. After seven days from the due date of payment of motor vehicle tax, an additional fee of one hundred rupees per day shall be levied in case of delay in payment of road tax.

On and after 14years from the first date of vehicle registration the motor vehicle tax (rounded to next integer) shall be levied annually which will be half of the tax mentioned above. The registration mark for BH-series vehicle are generated randomly through the portal, and it will be presented in black on white background. The first unit includes the last two digits of the year of registration, followed by two letters ‘BH’, and the four numerals between 0001 to 9999, followed by letters such as A, B, C, and then AA, AB, AZ etc.