Two years on, Andhra Pradesh remains wary of Centre’s BH series vehicle registration

More than two years after the Ministry of Road Transport introduced the 'BH' series registration for easy transfer of non-transport vehicles between states, Andhra Pradesh is yet to adopt it for fear of losing revenue in life-time taxes.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways adopted the concept of ‘One Nation One Registration’ by introducing the ‘BH’ series registration in September 2021 to ease the transfer of non-transport motor vehicles such as cars between states as well as union territories. Some states, however, are yet to adopt it, and Andhra Pradesh is one of them.

According to official sources in the Department of Transport, Andhra Pradesh is opposed to the system as it would hamper the State’s tax revenue. In this system, if a motor vehicle is registered with a ‘BH’ series number, its life tax is remitted directly to the Centre, not to the State. As such, a few states such as Kerala have even moved court against the system.

“Perhaps, this particular feature was the reason why the ‘BH’ series was not adopted by Andhra Pradesh under the YSRCP government led by Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. The incumbent government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, is yet to take a decision on adopting the ‘BH’ series,” a senior official from the Transport Department headquarters in Amaravati told The Hindu.

On the other hand, motorists and vehicle dealers are believed to be showing more interest in the ‘BH’ series. This is mainly because the tax amount under the ‘BH’ series is lower than that under the State’s system.

“The life-time tax of the vehicle is a minimum of 4% of the invoice (ex-showroom price of the vehicle) under the ‘BH’ series whereas it is at least 13% of the invoice under the State’s system. So, the vehicle owner saves thousands of rupees in taxes. Moreover, under the ‘BH’ series, the vehicle owner can pay the life-time tax in seven instalments (every two years). Under the State’s system, the entire tax amount has to be paid in lumpsum. These two reasons make the ‘BH’ series registration attractive to vehicle owners, who inquiry with us about it,” said a motor vehicle dealer in Visakhapatnam.

When contacted, Deputy Transport Commissioner G.C. Raja Ratnam clarified that owners of vehicles registered under the ‘BH’ series will have to pay tax to the State government if their vehicle is transferred to Andhra Pradesh from a State where it got the BH series number. “Many, however, believe that if they register a vehicle under the ‘BH’ series number in one State, they can move it to any State without paying further taxes; this is not the case,” he added.

“As per our notices, some vehicles registered under the ‘BH’ series in other states, including Arunachal Pradesh, were found being moved to the State. We will take action against those vehicles as per rules,” added Mr. Raja Ratnam.