The government has proposed to extend the validity of the Pollution Under Control Certificate (PUCC) for private vehicles complying with Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission standards to three years for vehicles up to six years old, instead of the current one year, in a move intended to ease the compliance burden on owners. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has published a draft notification setting out the change and the criteria for staggered renewal obligations. The proposal is presented as an administrative amendment to the existing PUCC regime.

The draft specifies that BS-VI vehicles aged between six and ten years will be required to renew their PUCC certificate and that vehicles above ten years will be subject to renewal every six years according to the text. Officials working on the notification have framed the schedule to reflect the durability and emissions profile of different vehicle cohorts. Motorists and fleet operators are expected to note the differentiated timelines for certificate validity.

The notification also clarifies that all motor vehicles complying with Bharat Stage IV (BS-IV) will need PUCC renewal every six months while those meeting Bharat Stage I, II and III norms will require renewal every three months. The ministry explained that the staggered intervals reflect the relative emissions performance and the need to phase out higher polluting vehicles more effectively. The move is intended to reduce administrative load on newer compliant vehicles while maintaining environmental safeguards.

Bharat Stage norms align with European emission standards and set limits on pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons and particulate matter. BS-IV was applicable from 2017 to 2020 and BS-VI has been in force since April 2020 after India skipped BS-V to accelerate pollution control. The draft further noted that BS-VI vehicles emit far lower pollutants and require low-sulphur BS-VI fuel.