The vehicles sold will have to be registered within 10 days, said sources aware of the development.
It is yet not clear how to calculate the 10% criteria, said two people. Whether it is 10% of every dealer’s inventory by units, or by value, or any other parameter was not yet clear. More clarity will only emerge once the written order comes through, the dealers said.
A bench of judges Deepak Gupta and Arun Mishra heard through video conferencing today a plea filed by the Federation of Automotive Dealers’ Association (FADA) seeking an extension of 30 days to sell and register unsold stocks of BSIV vehicles. Justice Arun Mishra said the court cannot keep extending the deadline for sale of BSIV vehicles in the name of coronavirus and that there is a need to be empathetic towards the environment.
Vehicles for which sale has been concluded and payment has been received electronically before 31 March can be registered post lockdown, said one dealer asking not to be named.
Automobile dealers have inventory valued at around Rs 7000 crore of BSIV-compliant vehicle with them. These include 700,000 two-wheeled, 12000 passenger vehicles and 7000 commercial vehicles.
With vehicle sales coming to a standstill amid the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, the extension from the Apex Court will being partial relief to the automotive industry.
