Better late than never: Vehicle owners directed to get licence plates

Excise dept to crackdown on fancy number plates soon

KARACHI: Sindh's excise and taxation department (E&TD) has directed owners of vehicles, including commercial vehicles, to get number plates from the E&TD motor registration wing at Civic Centre.

The E&TD has issued 90,000 number plates for motor cycles, private cars including commercial vehicles.

According to the information department press release, the series of motorcycles is KGN, KGO, KGP and KGQ. For private vehicles, the series is, AWA, AXA, AYA, AZA, BAL and BBA and for commercial vehicles KR, KS, KT, KN, JU, JY, JZ.

According to the statement, it is in the vehicle owners' interest to remove fancy number plates as they are illegal.

E&TD in collaboration with law enforcement agencies is going to launch a drive against illegal number plates, as fancy number plates could be used in terrorist activities.

The statement added that during the campaign, vehicles with fancy number plates would be impounded and a heavy fine would be imposed on the owners.

For the past two years, the E&TD failed to issue government-issued licence plates. This happened due to a tussle between two private companies, who went into litigation once the tender was issued in 2014.

The E&TD had invited tenders from private companies for the contract to manufacture official plates. One of the companies claimed in court that the tender was issued on the basis of favouritism. The court issued a stay order and, since then, the department was not able to award the contract.

From January 1, 2016, the E&TD resumed issuing official number plates to new vehicles being purchased in the market.

According to E&TD deputy director Shahabuddin Khatri, they would launch a campaign in the end of March against those vehicles that have been issued official number plates butcontinue using fancy ones.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2016.