Maharashtra: High-Security Registration Plate price for vehicles varies from Rs 531 to Rs 879

Vehicle owners will have to pay prices ranging from Rs 531 to Rs 879 to affix mandatory High-Security Registration Plates to vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, as per the Maharashtra transport department. The price includes the GST and the snap lock cost.

The transport department payment link opened on Wednesday.

The cost for fitting HSRP to tractors and two-wheelers like motorcycles and scooters will be Rs 531, Rs 590 for three-wheelers like auto-rickshaws, and Rs 879 for four or more-wheeled vehicles like cars, buses, trucks, tankers, tempos, and trailers.

For fitting HSRPs to old vehicles registered before April 2019, the state transport department has made an appointment facility available on its website and the dedicated webpage.

The website also mentioned HSRP rates for different types of vehicles including bifurcations.

As per the bifurcation, excluding GST, the cost of each HSRP plate of 200mm x 100mm and 285mm x 45 mm size for two-wheelers and three-wheelers will be Rs 219.9, while the plates of 500mm x 120mm and 340mm x 200mm size for four or more-wheelers will cost Rs 342.41.

The cost of snap locks and the third registration mark, excluding GST, will be Rs 10.18 and Rs 50, respectively, for all types of vehicles.

The Goods and Services Tax component for affixing the HSRP will be Rs 81 for two-wheelers and tractors, Rs 90 for three-wheelers, and Rs 134.10 for four or more-wheeled vehicles.

Even old vehicles, registered before April 1, 2019, will also be fitted with HSRPs on the front and rear sides along with a third registration mark sticker on their windshields, except for two-wheelers and tractors, as prescribed under Rule 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Along with GST, the rates include the cost of non-removable snap locks for tractors and two-wheelers, while for three-wheelers and four or more-wheeled vehicles, the price includes the cost of the third registration mark sticker, which will be placed on the windscreen of all vehicles.

RTO sources said 18 per cent GST will be applicable on the rate for HSRPs.

For the old vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner's Office has set a deadline of March 31, 2025, for affixing HSRPs and appointed three agencies, after a long-drawn-out tendering process, to carry out the task.

Authorities issued the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the new registration plates a day before the new Maharashtra government was sworn in in December.

To curb vehicle thefts and bring uniformity to vehicle identity marks, the fitment of these number plates was made mandatory for the vehicles registered in Maharashtra before April 2019, and the onus of installing those was on the manufacturers.

Made of a rare aluminium alloy, HSRP contains a retro-reflective film with a verification inscription 'India,' a chromium-based Ashok Chakra hologram, the hot-stamped letter IND in blue, and a 10-digit laser branding of a unique serial number, making it tamper-proof.

As per SOP, the vehicle owner is responsible for getting HSRP and a third registration mark sticker installed by March 31, 2025.

Enforcement authorities (Regional Transport Offices and police) have been authorised to take legal action and impose fines for non-compliance under Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, after the expiry of the March 2025 deadline.

The Transport Commissioner's office has appointed three agencies for the task of installing new registration plates in three zones across Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government in August 2023 invited tenders for the fitment of HSRPs to more than two crore vehicles registered before April 1, 2019.

As per the HSRP tender documents, about 2.10 crore vehicles, including 1.62 crore two-wheelers and 33 lakh four-wheelers, were registered in Maharashtra between 2008 and 2019.

Each agency must set up HSRP embossing and installation centres in their respective zones based on vehicle numbers. They will also create software or an application for appointments, payments, and grievance handling.

Vehicle owners will have to book an appointment for HSRP installation at least two days in advance, and the agencies are required to have the HSRP plates ready by that time, the SOP mentioned.