The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) on Wednesday said that all the categories of light, medium and heavy duty motor vehicles whether manufactured in India or imported will have to comply with the fuel consumption standards (FCS) from April 1, 2023.
The move is part of the government’s efforts to cut down on vehicular pollution in the country.
MoRTH — through an amendment on July 1, 2022 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules (CMVR), 1989 — has made it mandatory to include compliance with FCS for light, medium and heavy duty motor vehicles, the ministry said in a statement.
The continued compliance to FCS shall be verified as per the procedure of Conformity of Production, outlined in Automotive Industry Standard 149, it added.
“Prior to this notification, compliance with annual fuel consumption standards was limited to motor vehicles of M1 category (motor vehicle used for carriage of passengers, comprising not more than eight seats, in addition to the driver’s seat) with Gross Vehicle weight (GVW) up to 3.5 tonnes. The aim of this notification is to expand the ambit of vehicles for compliance with FCS, and hence introduce more fuel efficient vehicles,” MoRTH said.
The date of applicability of this notification is April 1, 2023 and comments have been invited from all stakeholders within 30 days from the date of the notification, it added.