Commercial vehicles carrying oxygen will not require permit in the backdrop of Covid-19 situation till September 30, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry said in its latest notification, informed a source.

This is a six-month extension of a similar notification that was brought in September last year, when the country was seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases and transporters were facing some problems.

That exemption lapsed on March 31 and has been extended on April 1.

Certain transport vehicle operators informed the Ministry that they were facing problems for carrying, transporting, and delivering oxygen cylinders or oxygen tanks across the states or within a state. Since oxygen is an important item required for the treatment of Covid-19, the Ministry had provided such an exemption on September 21, 2020.

The exemption will ensure the smooth movement while enabling supply of oxygen across the country.

"We have approved the extension of exemption to the requirement of permit under Motor Vehicles Act 1988 to September 30, 2021 for vehicles transporting oxygen cylinders," Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Minister Nitin Gadkari had tweeted on March 31.

The minister added, "This will facilitate the carriage and movement of oxygen between the states and will strengthen our fight against Covid-19 pandemic."

Related Topics