Vehicles sold without registration: UP transport dept pulls up 51 dealers, 28 ARTOs over lapses

NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh transport department has served notices to several car dealers and 28 assistant regional transport officers in the state for delays and lapses in the registration of vehicles.

In order to maintain a time-bound, transparent, and citizen-centric vehicle registration system in Uttar Pradesh, the transport department is regularly reviewing the dealer-point registration system. As part of this review, analysis of data recorded on the VAHAN portal between January and March 2025 revealed that several dealers did not adhere to the prescribed procedures.

The Transport Commissioner, BN Singh, said that investigations showed many dealers delivered vehicles to customers without registration, uploaded incomplete or illegible documents to the portal, and failed to comply with departmental guidelines. "Additionally, ARTO offices did not ensure proper monitoring of these files, leading to prolonged pendency of registration applications," he said.

The Noida transport department has nearly 10 lakh registered vehicles, and 7,000 new vehicles are registered monthly. The Commissioner said that the key violations committed by the dealers include the delivery of vehicles prior to registration; repeated upload of illegible, incomplete, or irrelevant documents; failure to correct errors even after files were reverted by the department; and failure to provide the registration certificate (RC) to the vehicle owner in a timely manner.

Based on these serious lapses, show cause notices have been issued to 51 dealers across the state. "They have been directed to submit a clear and satisfactory response within fourteen days, failing which legal action for suspension or cancellation of their Trade Certificates will be initiated as per law," he said.

The investigation also exposed administrative negligence at the level of district transport offices. In several cases, it was found that ARTOs failed to review the pendency of registration files, approved faulty documentation, or ignored procedural lapses. Consequently, 28 Assistant Regional Transport Officers (ARTOs) have also been issued show cause notices.

Under Rule 44 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, proceedings for suspension or cancellation of the Trade Certificate of the defaulting dealers may be initiated.

Siyaram Verma, ARTO (Noida), said that vehicle registrations are handled by the dealers. "Dealers sell the vehicles and upload buyers' documents on the Vahan portal, along with the registration fee. However, in some cases, they either submit incomplete paperwork or make errors in details such as the buyer's name or address. We send these files back for correction, but often the dealers fail to update them properly, which delays the issuance of registration certificates," he said.

While registration certificates are typically delivered within two weeks, such lapses can lead to delays, with some owners receiving them after a month or even later.