The Punjab government has increased the prices of number plates for bikes and cars in the province. In a notification, Punjab Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Department said that the province is pleased to fix the prices of “Security Featured Retro-Reflective Number Plates.” The notification further said that these new number plates would be made available to owners of motor vehicles by the Motor Registration Authority in all districts of Punjab, with immediate effect.
As per the notification, the new rates of the number plates are:
Previous Price Increase
In January 2021, Punjab increased the prices of number plates for cars and bikes. The Excise department had decided to hike the rate by 15%. The price for bike’s number plate was Rs750, while car’s number plate cost Rs1200. After the increase, the consumers paid extra Rs150 for their registration plates.
Talking to media, Additional Director General of E&TD, Rao Shakeel, said that the government signed the previous contract in 2014. “However, due to the increase in dollar price in last seven years, it has become impossible for the department to provide these plates at the current rate,” Shakeel stated.
Meanwhile, the consumers in the province are still facing delay in receiving number plates. As per the reports, the Excise Department is issuing the new Universal Number Plates, however, their is a backlog in old plates. The reports further stated that the department is working on it and will end backlog in next 3-4 months.
The unavailability of new number plates is a serious issue for the consumers, especially the bike owners as the it is more serious for them. As government has not allowed them to put private number plates, hence, they are regularly being stopped by the traffic police.
We hope that that the government will start providing these new number plates to consumers as soon as possible.
