Punjab ends number plate requirement

RAWALPINDI:

The Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department Punjab has abolished the requirement to inspect so-called "official" number plates on vehicles and motorcycles and to issue fines on that basis.

In a significant notification concerning number plates, the department has announced that members of the public will no longer be subjected to unwarranted penalties by the traffic police in this regard.

The department has clarified that it is no longer manufacturing official number plates at the time of vehicle and motorcycle registration. With hundreds of thousands of plates currently pending, vehicle owners are now permitted to have number plates produced independently from the open market, provided they conform strictly to the government-approved design. Accordingly, the traffic police have been directed to cease, with immediate effect from Saturday, issuing challans or imposing fines relating to number plates on vehicles and motorcycles.

Officers may only verify whether a number plate is affixed in the prescribed manner, rather than insisting upon an "original" government-issued plate.

The Excise Department has formally discontinued the official production of number plates and has also stopped collecting any associated fees.