The government has rolled out a new law aimed at tightening control over vehicle smuggling, specifically cracking down on cars with tampered or altered identification marks.
This new rule, known as Section 187A, introduces a significant shift in legal procedure—it presumes any vehicle with certain physical alterations to be smuggled, even if it has been officially registered.
Legal Presumption of Smuggling
As outlined in Section 187A, if a vehicle is seized under relevant laws and a forensic inspection reveals any of the following changes, it will automatically be treated as smuggled:
- A tampered chassis number
- A chassis that has been cut and welded
- A chassis filled with welding material
- A re-stamped chassis number
- A body that has been replaced or altered
Even if the car is registered with a Motor Registration Authority, any one of these findings will lead to it being classified as smuggled and liable for confiscation.
Confiscation and Enforcement
Such vehicles can now be confiscated immediately. This rule is meant to crack down on forged papers and physical modifications often used to pass off smuggled cars as legal. Law enforcement officers can now act directly on forensic results rather than having to rely on possibly manipulated registration documents.
Closing Registration Loopholes
Officials have long faced challenges with smuggled vehicles making their way into the legal market through fake documents and chassis alterations.
This new law aims to block those paths and shifts the responsibility to the vehicle owner once tampering is detected through forensic checks.