SC Seeks Details From Auto Companies On Unsold BS III Vehicles Inventory

The Government of India had notified that all vehicles from the 1st of April 2017 should be BS IV to tackle pollution - across India. While Bajaj moved the top court saying there should be sale of only BS IV vehicles, its rivals Hero MotoCorp and others opposed Bajaj's statement saying that it is only the manufacture and not the sale that should be implemented from the deadline date.

By Carandbike Team

1 mins read

Published on March 22, 2017

Highlights

The Govt had notified that all vehicles from 1st April should be BS IV
Bajaj moved the SC saying there should be sale of only BSIV vehicles
The case will now come up for hearing on the 24th of March

The Supreme Court has directed all automobile manufacturers to submit data of unsold stock of BS III vehicles on the 20thof March. This was in keeping with the ongoing tussle within the auto industry on the adoption of BS IV emission norms. The Supreme Court will review the data from all car and bike manufacturers and the case will now come up for hearing on the 24th of March. The issue still pending before the court - whether the sale and registration of BS III vehicles should be allowed after the 1st of April 2017 - which was the deadline set by the government to transit to the new emissions regime pan India. The issue became contentious after some manufacturers like Bajaj said that the deadline applied to the sale and not manufacture of the said vehicles. The Government of India had notified that all vehicles from the 1st of April 2017 should be BS IV to tackle pollution - across India. While Bajaj moved the top court saying there should be sale of only BS IV vehicles, its rivals Hero MotoCorp and others opposed Bajaj's statement saying that it is only the manufacture and not the sale that should be implemented from the deadline date. In fact, that is the view of SIAM or the Society of Indian Auto Manufacturers as well. Bajaj argues that if there is a grace period or leeway provided, it would hurt manufacturers who have made investments and suffered losses to meet the April 1 deadline. The Supreme Court will now take up the case on Friday after getting the details on how much stock each company is holding in its dealer and distributor pipeline.