Newer version of vehicle revenue licence issuance online gets underway
Sri Lanka’s ongoing vehicle revenue licence system eRL1.0 will be augmented by upgrading it under a new system development with more functionalities to meet changing business needs and provide more efficient services to the public, according to Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) sources.
The newer version of the system, eRL2.0, is currently underway to provide more facilities for vehicle owners living in rural areas outside Colombo to get their new vehicle revenue licence or renew the existing one.
They will be able to get this service online from any Provincial Secretariat irrespective of the province of issuance of the licence using the newer system after its completion, a senior Transport Ministry official said.
The process of improving the system performance and providing greater reporting facilities to support the backend operations is now underway, he disclosed.
The eRL initiative launched in December 2009 has been successful in achieving its objectives and has revolutionised the way revenue licences are issued and renewed in Sri Lanka.
The eRevenue License facility enables vehicle revenue licence to be issued afresh or renewed by applying for it from home via online without physically going to the relevant Government office.
It can file scanned necessary documents expediting the paper work while minimising the wastage of paper and the cost as well as to conserve green environment, he added.
Transport, Minister Bandula Gunawardena has instructed the Motor Traffic Commissioner to take necessary action to use online technology to submit the photos for driving licences and vehicle registration.
Presently, online photos for National Identity Cards and passports are successfully submitted by 7,000 photo studios all over the country using ICAO technology.
The eRL system maintains the revenue licence records of all vehicles in the country and is currently running at full capacity.
The sytem eRL, hosted in the Lanka Government Cloud (LGC), operates smoothly island-wide, covering all 333 Divisional Secretariat Offices at over 550 locations, which the LGC another very successful infrastructure initiative by ICTA, ICT agency sources said.
The system connects various stakeholder organisations, including the Department of Motor Traffic (DMT), Provincial Departments of Motor Traffic (PDMT), insurance companies, emission testing companies, banks, and financial institutions that provide essential services to complete the issuance of the licences.
In 2013, ICTA enhanced the eRL solution and developed it as a centralised system. The rollout of the eRL solution in other provinces began in 2014, and it has since been successfully implemented island-wide.