MTD cracking down on revenue licence defaulters

The Motor Tr a f f i c Department (MTD) is to take prompt action against vehicle owners who default on revenue licence renewals. The department has decided to cancel the registration of vehicle owners who fail to renew their revenue licenses continuously for five years considering that those vehicles are deemed to have been removed from operating on the road, a top official said.

Commissioner General of Motor Traffic A . H. K. Jagath Chandrasiri noted that such motorists should pay areas and fines for the failure to inform the department of reasons for such default.

Even if such vehicles are de- registered with the department, the owners will have to pay the entire sum of licence fees and fines, he added.

License for a newly registered vehicle should be taken within seven days, and if this period is exceeded, then 10 per cent of the prescribed annual fee will be levied as fines, he disclosed.

When a period of over six months but less than 12 months has elapsed after the due date for payment of licence fees, then a fine of 20 per cent of the revenue licence fee should be paid as fines while the fine for not renewing the revenue licence for over 12 months is 30 per cent, he said.

The number of vehicles registered with the department at present is around 6.7 million and the majority of it is motorcycles numbering over 3 million.

There are 1.1 million registered three wheelers, 700,000 cars, 300,000 vans, 350,000 trucks and about 100,000 buses.

Sri Lanka is seriously considering the possibility of removing vehicles of over 15 years old and un-roadworthy vehicles numbering around 1.2 million from the roads to meet more efficient transportation needs of urban areas, he added.