Motor Vehicles Act Section 48 — No objection certificate

CHAPTER IV REGISTRATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES

Civil

Summary

Sub-section (1) explains when a no objection certificate is needed. The owner of a vehicle must apply for it when asking for a new registration mark under section 47, or if the vehicle is being transferred to a different State, the person transferring the vehicle must apply for it when reporting the transfer under section 50. The application must be made in the form and manner prescribed by the Central Government, and it goes to the registering authority that originally registered the vehicle. The certificate states that the registering authority has no objection to assigning a new registration mark or to recording the transfer of ownership.

Sub-section (2) says that when the registering authority receives an application under sub-section (1), it must issue a receipt in the form prescribed by the Central Government.

Sub-section (3) states that after receiving an application, the registering authority may make inquiries and require the applicant to follow certain directions. Within thirty days of receiving the application, it must communicate in writing whether it has granted or refused the no objection certificate. However, the authority cannot refuse the certificate unless it has written down the reasons for the refusal and sent a copy of those reasons to the applicant.

Sub-section (4) provides that if the registering authority does not refuse the certificate or does not communicate a refusal within the thirty-day period mentioned in sub-section (3), the certificate is considered to have been granted automatically.

Sub-section (5) requires that before granting or refusing the certificate, the registering authority must obtain a written report from the police confirming that no theft case involving the vehicle has been reported or is pending. It must also verify that all amounts due to the Government, including road tax, have been paid for the vehicle, and it must consider other factors prescribed by the Central Government.

Sub-section (6) says that the owner of the vehicle must inform the registering authority in writing as soon as possible about any theft of the vehicle, including the name of the police station where the theft was reported. The registering authority must take this theft report into account when dealing with any application for a no objection certificate, registration, transfer of ownership, or issue of a duplicate registration certificate.

Official Text

(1) The owner of a motor vehicle when applying for the assignment of a new registration mark under sub-section (1) of section 47, or where the transfer of a motor vehicle is to be effected in a State other than the State of its registration, the transferor of such vehicle when reporting the transfer under sub-section (1) of section 50, shall make an application in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed by the Central Government to the registering authority by which the vehicle was registered for the issue of a certificate (hereafter in this section referred to as the no objection certificate), to the effect that the registering authority has no objection for assigning a new registration mark to the vehicle or, as the case may be, for entering the particulars of the transfer of ownership in the certificate of registration.

(2) The registering authority shall, on receipt of an application under sub-section (1), issue a receipt in such form as may be prescribed by the Central Government.

(3) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the registering authority may, after making such inquiry and requiring the applicant to comply with such directions as it deems fit and within thirty days of the receipt thereof, by order in writing, communicate to the applicant that it has granted or refused to grant the no objection certificate:

Provided that a registering authority shall not refuse to grant the no objection certificate unless it has recorded in writing the reasons for doing so and a copy of the same has been communicated to the applicant.

(4) Where within a period of thirty days referred to in sub-section (3), the registering authority does not refuse to grant the no objection certificate or does not communicate the refusal to the applicant, the registering authority shall be deemed to have granted the no objection certificate.

(5) Before granting or refusing to grant the no objection certificate, the registering authority shall obtain a report in writing from the police that no case relating to the theft of the motor vehicle concerned has been reported or is pending, verify whether all the amounts due to Government including road tax in respect of that motor vehicle have been paid and take into account such other factors as may be prescribed by the Central Government. 1[

(6) The owner of the vehicle shall also inform at the earliest, in writing, the registering authority about the theft of his vehicle together with the name of the police station where the theft report was lodged, and the registering authority shall take into account such report while disposing of any application for no objection certification, registration, transfer of ownership or issue of duplicate registration certificate.]