Two-wheeler registrations to resume next week

Published On: October 26, 2018 07:27 AM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

New registrations under provinces

KATHMANDU, Oct 26: The government plans to resume the registration of new two-wheelers from next week, and registrations will be under the provinces instead of under the zones as hitherto.

In an amendment to the Transport Management Regulations, the government has decided to register two-wheelers under the provinces. This will be followed by four-wheelers. Issuing notice in the Nepal Gazette on Thursday, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management cleared the way for the registration of newly-imported motorbikes and scooters . Registration was stalled since earlier this month because of legal hurdles . The halt in registration of new two-wheelers ahead of the festive season had affected many who were planning to take advantage of festival offers to buy new bikes .

The new registrations came to a halt once all license numbers under lot 99 for Bagmati Zone were taken up. Transport regulations did not provide for three-digit lot numbers . “With the publication of the regulations amendment in the Nepal Gazette, the new two-wheelers will be registered under the provinces. It could take a few days as the transport management office codes have to be generated,” said Gokarna Prasad Upadhyay, spokesperson at the Department of Transport Management.

Under the new provisions, the number plate of two-wheelers will have the province code at the top, a three-digit lot number under that and then the vehicle type and a four-digit license number. Following the advent of the provincial setup, two-wheelers were still being registered under the 14 zones.

The registration of four-wheelers under the provinces started from last year with the introduction of embossed number plates.

Meanwhile, only three of the provinces have so far finalized their names, including Karnali, Gandaki and Sudur Paschim. The amended regulations state that province codes will be introduced once the province concerned has a name.

The Department of Transport Management has said that existing two-wheeler numbers will not be changed any time soon. With the introduction of the new provisions, there will be three types of number plates on the roads -- those under provinces, those still under zones and the embossed .