Your job just doesn’t end with buying a car and insuring it with a good insurance plan. When driving on Indian roads, it is imperative that you always carry certain important documents that permit you to drive legally. The Central Motor Vehicle Rules 1989 mandates every vehicle owner to carry documents such as driving license, insurance, registration certificate and pollution under control certificate. While the RC mentions that your car is registered, insurance policy insurers your car and driving license gives you the permission to drive, have you thought about why PUC certificate is important? If not, then here’s a short brief for you to understand all about PUC certificate.
A PUC certificate states that the vehicle has passed the PUC test and its emission levels are under control. This means that one can drive the vehicle without having to worry about its effect on the polluting the environment. Central Motor Vehicles Rule 115 makes it mandatory for every vehicle owner to carry a valid PUC Certificate. It further states that one has to carry a valid PUC Certificate at all the times and produce the same on demand by any officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector of Police or Motor Vehicles Inspector. Every vehicle in India has to pass the PUCtest to ensureits emission levels are in accordance with the air pollution norms. All types of vehicles including CNG/LP are required to carry a PUC certificate. PUC certificate issued for a brand new car is valid for a period of 1 year after which the test has to be conducted every 6 months. If the vehicle emissions are found to be beyond the normal limit, then the validity of the PUC certificate is decided on the basis of the readings of the test. Also, if the vehicle emissions are found to be adverse, you will have to submit your vehicle registration number to the RTO and inform them about the same. PUC test can be conducted at any authorized test center and it can cost you up to Rs.60-Rs. 100, depending on the type of vehicle you own.
Procedure followed for conducting PUC test is different for diesel and petrol vehicles.
For your vehicle to comply with the required emission limits, here’s a standard table describing the emission limits
PUC certificate specifies the below information about your vehicle
If you do not carry a valid PUC certificate, then you will becomeliable to pay a penalty of Rs. 1000/- for first time offence, then Rs. Rs. 2000/- for subsequent offences.