UP govt pulls up 28 ARTOs, 51 dealers over delayed RCs

The Uttar Pradesh transport department has issued show-cause notices to 28 assistant regional transport officers (ARTOs) and 51 car dealers across the state for serious lapses in the vehicle registration process. The action follows a departmental review of the VAHAN portal, which revealed widespread delays and non-compliance with registration procedures between January and March 2025.

“Investigations have shown that many dealers delivered vehicles to customers without registration, uploaded incomplete or illegible documents to the portal, and failed to comply with departmental guidelines,” the transport department said in a statement, adding that ARTO offices also failed to properly monitor these files, leading to prolonged pendency of registration applications.

Officials said that key violations by dealers include the delivery of vehicles prior to registration, repeated uploads of illegible, incomplete, or irrelevant documents, failure to correct errors even after files were returned by the department, and failure to provide registration certificates (RCs) to vehicle owners in a timely manner, added the statement. Officials said that they are yet to decide what happens to the vehicles already on the road with erroneous registrations from the dealers.

UP transport commissioner BN Singh said based on these serious lapses, show-cause notices have been issued to 51 dealers across the state. “They have been directed to submit a clear and satisfactory response within 14 days, failing which legal action for suspension or cancellation of their trade certificates will be initiated as per the law,” he added.

The inquiry also uncovered administrative negligence at the district level. Several ARTOs reportedly failed to review pending files, approved defective documentation, or ignored procedural lapses. As a result, 28 ARTOs have also received show-cause notices.

The department cited Rule 44 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, as the legal basis for proceedings against the dealers. According to the rule, if the registering authority finds that a trade certificate holder has violated Rules 39 to 43, it may suspend or cancel the certificate.

Explaining the typical lapses, Siyaram Verma, ARTO of the Noida Transport Department, said, “Dealers are responsible for selling the vehicles and uploading the buyer’s documents, along with the registration fee, to the VAHAN portal. We return these erroneous files for correction, but in many cases, dealers fail to update them properly.”

Although RCs are usually delivered within two weeks, such errors have caused significant delays, with some owners receiving their documents after a month or more.

According to the Noida Transport Department, there are nearly 1 million registered vehicles in the city, with around 7,000 new vehicles added each month.