Supreme Court Extends Deadline To Sell Unsold BS-IV Vehicles

The deadline extension for sale of unsold BS-IV vehicles till 24 April does not apply to Delhi-NCR though.

New cars lined up at a yard awaiting shipment.

Photo: The Quint

The Supreme Court on Friday, 27 March, allowed the sale of BS-IV compliant vehicles for 10 days, barring in Delhi-NCR, after the ongoing countrywide lockdown over the coronavirus pandemic is lifted.

Theoretically, this would mean the extension is till 24 April.

The apex court, which had earlier fixed the deadline of 31 March 2020 for sale of BS-IV compliant vehicles across the country, passed the order on a plea by Federation of Automobile Dealers' Association (FADA), which had sought extension of time for the sale of their unsold inventory amid coronavirus scare and economic slowdown.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta, which heard the matter on Friday through video-conferencing, made it clear however that no BS-IV vehicles will be allowed to be sold in Delhi-NCR from 1 April 2020.

Bharat Stage (BS) emission norms are standards instituted by the government to regulate the output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The BS-IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.

Most car makers have already shifted to BS-VI compliant vehicles. However, some dealers still have unsold inventory which they are trying to sell at huge discounts.