The Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department of Punjab has eliminated the necessity to inspect official number plates on vehicles and motorcycles, as well as to impose fines based on this requirement.
In a notification regarding number plates, the department has declared that the public will no longer face unjust penalties from the traffic police in this matter.
Punjab Excise Department has made it clear that it is not currently producing official number plates during the registration of vehicles and motorcycles.
With a backlog of hundreds of thousands of plates, vehicle owners are now allowed to have number plates manufactured independently from the open market, as long as they adhere strictly to the design approved by the government.
Consequently, Punjab traffic police have been instructed to immediately stop issuing challans or imposing fines related to number plates on vehicles and motorcycles, effective from Saturday.
Punjab Excise Department introduces new policy
According to the notification, the Punjab Excise Department noted that during routine road inspections, traffic police officers were often requesting citizens to present “original” government-issued number plates.
In numerous instances, vehicle owners faced unjust fines for using privately manufactured plates, resulting in significant inconvenience.
To address this issue, the Excise Department has clarified its new “open regime” policy and provided detailed guidelines for traffic enforcement.
To mitigate further public harassment, the Excise Department has officially requested the DIG Traffic Police to issue stringent instructions to all field officers.
The new guidelines state that:
- Format Verification Only: During road inspections, traffic wardens are required to verify solely that the number plate adheres to the Punjab-approved format.
- No Demand for Government Plates: Citizens will no longer be obligated to present “original” government-manufactured number plates, as their official centralized issuance has been terminated.
- No Fines for Private Plates: Officers are expressly forbidden from levying fines or penalties on citizens displaying privately manufactured number plates that conform to the specified design criteria.
Drivers can now quickly obtain legally compliant number plates from the local market right after vehicle registration, thereby saving time and preventing unnecessary traffic fines.
