SIAM And FADA Request Supreme Court For Extensions On Sale And Registration Of BS4 Vehicles

• SIAM has requested to continue sales and registration of BS4 vehicles till the March 31 cut-off date
• FADA’s application is to request an extension of the BS6 deadline from April 1 to May 31.
• The coronavirus and lockdowns in the country have caused many difficulties for dealers to clear out their BS4 inventory.

With BS6 emission norms set to kick in on April 1, the focus over the past few months from both car and bike manufacturers has been to clear their BS4 inventory and convert their current vehicles to BS6 compliance. However, this process has hit some difficulties owing to the automotive slowdown and the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19). In response to this, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) have sent different applications to the Supreme Court with the  former’s application to continue sales/registration of BS4 vehicles till March 31. The latter’s application is to extend the BS6 deadline to May 31.

SIAM’s application states that while the registration of BS4 vehicles is applicable till 31 March, some state governments have recently issued circulars refusing applications for registration of BS IV vehicles from certain dates that are earlier than the March 31 cut-off period. These range from 29 February 2020 to 25 March 2020 depending on the state. Thus SIAM has filed an application in Supreme Court seeking sale/registration of BS4 vehicles to continue till the March 31 deadline.

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On the other hand, this is the second application of extension from FADA to the Supreme Court. The reasoning for this is due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19 virus that has led to poor sales and has affected dealers trying to clear their remaining BS4 inventory before the deadline. This virus has caused the government to impose lockdown in several states. This includes asking shops, malls and dealerships to remain closed,  as a result affecting sales.  

All this confusion at such short notice is likely to seriously affect the auto industry’s transition to BS6. And with dealerships and manufacturing plants being forced to temporarily be suspended, expect a drop in sales as well as keeping stock of newly launched vehicles. As a result, waiting periods for new vehicles could extend. While there is no decision yet from the Supreme Court on either of these applications, we hope that some leniency is offered for dealers considering the current situation at hand.

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