‘You can now get your vehicle number plate within a day’

Official says Excise Dept clearing backlog by timely issuing new number plates

KARACHI:

After years of piling up applications for license plates, the Motor Vehicle Wing of the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department has expedited the process of clearing the backlog by issuing number plates without any delays.

More than 300,000 applications for number plates of both four-wheelers (commercial and non-commercial) and motorcycles were pending due to a plethora of issues, including alleged kickbacks, influence of mafias, and disputes between contractors over the auction system, causing immense hardships for vehicle owners.

"With the new computerised system in place, we now issue modern number plates with security features, including tracking chips. We can issue number plates within a day for those who complete the vehicle registration process. The entire process, from application to issuance of number plates and return of the file to the owner, takes hardly a week," said Saeed Memon, Deputy Director Motor Vehicles Excise and Taxation, who recently assumed the role.

According to Memon, he has been tasked with clearing the backlog and alleviating the people's suffering. "We are undertaking multiple tasks, including replacing old yellow number plates with new computerised ones featuring Sindh Ajrak designs. On a daily basis, we issue around 1,400 to 1,500 number plates in the metropolitan city," he added, giving credit for resolving the issue to the newly appointed secretary of the department, Atif Rehman Khan.

Memon emphasised that his first priority was to eliminate the commission mafia and the middleman's role from his department. "I encourage people to come directly to my office if they face any difficulty," he stated. He also highlighted the security features of the new computerised number plates, mentioning that it would be impossible to create duplicate copies due to printed stickers, barcodes, and chips containing all data of the vehicles and their owners. "In the future, the Sindh government will provide scanners to traffic police to retrieve information by scanning the number plates," he added.

The National Radio and Telecommunication (NRTC) and Excise and Taxation Department are jointly working on a project to computerise all vehicle number plates in Sindh. "We have also introduced an SMS service to update vehicle owners about the status of their file whenever they come for a computerized number plate," he concluded. On the other hand, an official in the Excise and Taxation department, requesting anonymity, revealed that the previous contact system for issuing number plates caused delays and frustrations for vehicle owners.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2023.