Section 88: Validation of permits for use outside region in which granted
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1988
Motor Vehicles Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide
(1) Except as may be otherwise prescribed, a permit granted by the Regional Transport Authority of any one region shall not be valid in any other region, unless the permit has been countersigned by the Regional Transport Authority of that other region, and a permit granted in any one State shall not be valid in any other State unless countersigned by the State Transport Authority of that other State or by the Regional Transport Authority concerned:
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a permit granted or countersigned by a State Transport Authority shall be valid in the whole State or in such regions within the State as may be specified in the permit.
(3) A Regional Transport Authority when countersigning the permit may attach to the permit any condition which it might have imposed if it had granted the permit and may likewise vary any condition attached to the permit by the authority by which the permit was granted.
(4) The provisions of this Chapter relating to the grant, revocation and suspension of permits shall apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of countersignatures of permits:
(5) Every proposal to enter into an agreement between the States to fix the number of permits which is proposed to be granted or countersigned in respect of each route or area, shall be published by each of the State Governments concerned in the Official Gazette and in any one or more of the newspapers in regional language circulating in the area or route proposed to be covered by the agreement together with a notice of the date before which representations in connection therewith may be submitted, and the date not being less than thirty days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, on which, and the authority by which, and the time and place at which, the proposal and any representation received in connection therewith will be considered.
(6) Every agreement arrived at between the States shall, insofar as it relates to the grant of countersignature of permits, be published by each of the State Governments concerned in the Official Gazette and in any one or more of the newspapers in the regional language circulating in the area or route covered by the agreement and the State Transport Authority of the State and the Regional Transport Authority concerned shall give effect to it.
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), a Regional Transport Authority of one region may issue a temporary permit under section 87 to be valid in another region or State with the concurrence, given generally or for the particular occasion, of the Regional Transport Authority of that other region or of the State Transport Authority of that other State, as the case may be.
(8) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), but subject to any rules that may be made under this Act by the Central Government, the Regional Transport Authority of any one region or, as the case may be, the State Transport Authority, may, for the convenience of the public, [grant a special permit to any public service vehicle including any vehicle covered ]by a permit issued under section 72 (including a reserve stage carriage) or under section 74 or under sub-section (9) of this section for carrying a passenger or passengers for hire or reward under a contract, express or implied, for the use of the vehicle as a whole without stopping to pick up or set down along the line of route passengers not included in the contract, and in every case where such special permit is granted, the Regional Transport Authority shall assign to the vehicle, for display thereon, a special distinguishing mark in the form and manner specified by the Central Government and such special permit shall be valid in any other region or State without the countersignature of the Regional Transport Authority of the other region or of the State Transport Authority of the other State, as the case may be.
(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, [clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 87 and section 89] shall, as far as may be, apply in relation to such permits. [* * *]
(11) The following shall be conditions of every permit granted under sub-section (9), namely:
(i) every motor vehicle in respect of which such permit is granted shall conform to such description, requirement regarding the seating capacity, standards of comforts, amenities and other matters, as the Central Government may specify in this behalf;
(ii) every such motor vehicle shall be driven by a person having such qualifications and satisfying such conditions as may be specified by the Central Government; and
(iii) such other conditions as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
(12) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), but, subject to the rules 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, [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. [* * *]
(14)
(a) The Central Government may make rules for carrying out the provisions of this section.
(b) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:
(i) the authorisation fee payable for the issue of a permit referred to in sub-sections (9) and (12);
(ii) the fixation of the laden weight of the motor vehicle;
(iii) the distinguishing particulars or marks to be carried or exhibited in or on the motor vehicle;
(iv) the colour or colours in which the motor vehicle is to be painted;
(v) such other matters as the appropriate authority shall consider in granting a national permit.
(a) appropriate authority, in relation to a national permit, means the authority which is authorised under this Act to grant a goods carriage permit;
(b) authorisation fee means the annual fee, not exceeding one thousand rupees, which may be charged by the appropriate authority of a State to enable a motor vehicle, covered by the permit referred to in sub-sections (9) and (12) to be used in other States subject to the payment of taxes or fees, if any, levied by the States concerned;
(c) 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.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 88
Section 88 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 regulates the inter-region and inter-State validity of transport permits, reciprocal agreements between State Governments, and National Permit schemes.
Sub-sections (5) to (8) govern reciprocal transport agreements between State Governments and the grant of tourist permits. Sub-sections (9) to (14) establish the National Permit scheme for goods carriages, empowering the Central Government to formulate uniform rules and fee structures, enabling commercial trucks to ply across the entire territory of India on payment of consolidated national permit fees without needing regional countersignatures.
In motor accident compensation claims, transport vehicles operating outside their permitted geographical territory without valid counter-signature or National Permit are scrutinized for policy breach. If a route permit is strictly territorial and contains explicit geographical boundaries, an accident occurring beyond that zone without an extended permit triggers pay-and-recover disputes before the MACT.