Kolkata: The West Bengal State Department has decided that the transfer of ownership of non-transport vehicles like private cars can be endorsed and recorded by any registering authority.
This can be done irrespective of the address of the purchaser. The notification clarifies that the vehicle’s purchaser may be allowed to remain present virtually or physically as per his or her convenience.
The notification states that whenever a non-transport vehicle is produced for renewal of registration before any registering authority of West Bengal, a photograph of the vehicle has to be captured using an authenticated app of the NIC.
Until now, a purchaser had to appear before an RTO officer in person and complete the formalities of buying a second-hand vehicle from the seller.
On several occasions, the transfer of vehicle ownership has remained incomplete because the buyer failed to comply with the sale requirements by not attending in person.
Even after a vehicle was sold, if the ownership transfer formalities were not completed, it remained registered in the name of the previous owner.
The change in the existing process of buying and selling private, non-commercial vehicles was introduced to simplify and improve the ease of doing business.
Now, if either the buyer or seller is unable to appear physically to complete the transfer of ownership of a vehicle, either can appear virtually and wrap up the required formalities.
This will particularly benefit individuals living in remote areas or outside Bengal who are buying or selling a vehicle with someone based in Kolkata or its surrounding regions.
The decision to have the seller and buyer appear in person or virtually to complete the transfer of ownership was to ensure that both the registering authority and the seller were aware of the buyer’s identity.
