National Permit – Online Application Procedure

National Permit or All India Permit is a type of registration provided to transporters by the Transport Department of each State Government for goods carriage to operate through-out India. State Governments can issue two types of permit for goods carriage, one being State Permit and the other National Permit. A National Permit provides authorisation for a vehicle to ply across India, the State in which the permit was issued, the Union Territory and atleast a minimum of four other States. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining National Permit for a lorry in India.

Requirement for National Permit

To obtain National Permit, the owner of the vehicle must make an application to the concerned State Regional Transport Authority. In many States, there is a restriction placed on the age of the vehicle for which National Permit is sought. National Permit can be obtained only for vehicles less than 12 years old.

Documents Required for National Permit

The list of Documents required for obtaining National Permit are:

1. Registration Certificate of the vehicle.
2. Fitness Certificate of the vehicle.
3. Insurance Certificate of the vehicle.
4. Proof of payment of tax for the current Quarter to the Home State .
5. Fee for National Permit.
6. Demand drafts drawn in favour of the Authorities prescribed in respect of other states towards payment of composite taxes.
7. Payment of green tax wherever applicable.

Application Submission Procedure

The application for National Permit must be submitted in Form 46 and Form 48 as shown below. Form 48 is reproduced below for reference:

The above two forms, must be submitted at the Regional Transport Authority of the State to which the vehicle is registered along with the requisite fee.

On submission of the application to the Regional Transport Authority of the State and payment of authorisation fee, the transport authorities will upload certain data on the National Permit web portal called Vahan. Only transport authorities can upload data on this website. There is no access provided to transporters.

National Payment Online Payment

Once, the data is uploaded by the State Government Authorities, the transporter will have to pay Rs.15,000 as consolidated fee through the Vahan portal. On payment of fees, the transporter can approach the concerned Transport Authority for issue of the National Permit. The Officer in the Transport Authority will check the validity of payment and issue the National Permit on verification of the payment data.

National Permit Fee

The government fee for obtaining National Permit for a Truck or Lorry is as under:

National Permit (Truck)	Temporary (For 1 Week)
			Permit Fee	Rs.50	Rs.17,600
			Application Fee	Rs.50
			Authorization Fee	Rs.1,000
			Composite Fee	Rs.16,500
	Temporary (For 4 Months)
			Permit Fee	Rs.240	Rs.17,790
			Application Fee	Rs.50
			Authorization Fee	Rs.1,000
			Composite Fee	Rs.16,500
	Permanent (For 5 Years)
			Permit Fee	Rs.2,000	Rs.19,550
			Application Fee	Rs.50
			Authorization Fee	Rs.1,000
			Composite Fee	Rs.16,500

National Permit Verification

After issue of permit, any person can check the status of validity and status of a National Permit on the Vahan Portal. To check the status of National Permit, the following details must be provided on the Vahan Portal:

Registration No:

Chassis No:

(Last five chars)

Section 88 of Motor Vehicle Act

Section 88 of the Motor Vehicle Act pertains to National Permit and permits issued by a State Regional Transport Authority (RTO) for goods carriage.

Definition of National Permit under Section 88 of Motor Vehicle Act

“National permit” means a permit granted by the appropriate authority to goods carriages to operate throughout the territory of India or in such contiguous States, not being less than four in number, including the State in which the permit is issued as may be specified in such permit in accordance with the choice indicated in the application.”

Section 88 of the Motor Vehicle Act which pertains to National Permit is reproduced below:

• (9) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) but subject to any rules that may be made by the Central Government under sub-section (14), any State Transport Authority may, for the purpose of promoting tourism, grant permits in respect of tourist vehicles valid for the whole of India, or in such contiguous States not being less than three in number including the State in which the permit is issued as may be specified in such permit in accordance with the choice indicated in the application and the provisions of sections 73, 74, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 2[clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 87 and section 89] shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to such permits. 2[clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 87 and section 89] shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to such permits.”

• (12) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), but, subject to the rule that may be made by the Central Government under sub-section (14), the appropriate authority may, for the purpose of encouraging long distance inter-State road transport, grant in a State, national permits in respect of goods carriages and the provisions of sections 69, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 4[clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 87 and section 89] shall, as far as may be, apply to or in relation to the grant of national permits. 1[clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 87 and section 89] shall, as far as may be, apply to or in relation to the grant of national permits.”