Bengaluru: For many Bengaluru motorists returning from New Year getaways in neighbouring states, the most talked-about takeaway from their road trips was neither beaches nor hill stations, but a Rs 10,000 penalty notice that flashed on their phones.Car owners who drove Karnataka-registered vehicles to holiday hotspots such as Goa and Odisha say conversations along highways, at fuel stations, and in apartment parking lots have revolved around the same shock: steep fines for alleged air pollution violations, even though they possessed valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificates, also known as emission certificates.The penalties, issued by transport authorities in other states, were triggered by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras at toll plazas. These cameras flagged vehicles based on number plates alone — without any physical emission or noise testing — catching motorists completely off guard just as the holiday season faded. Motorists claim that PUC certificates issued in Karnataka are not reflecting accurately on the central Parivahan database, leading to imposition of wrongful penalties.Sameer Ranjan B received an e-challan from the Odisha transport department for allegedly driving without a valid PUC certificate. However, Sameer said his PUC certificate, issued by a certified testing centre in Bengaluru, is valid until June 2026, and is complete with his car’s photograph, hologram, and other authentication details. When he contacted the emission testing centre, its owner told Sameer that he had received similar complaints from other car owners. A Bengaluru-based car owner reported receiving a similar penalty notice from Goa on Dec 24, despite having obtained a valid PUC certificate on Dec 16. “It is unacceptable that car owners are being penalised due to a system flaw. The authorities must resolve this urgently,” he said. An operator of an emission testing centre in Bengaluru said car owners frequently contact him after being wrongly penalised outside Karnataka despite having valid certificates. “Every day, I receive calls from car owners who have obtained PUC certificates at my centre. They say they are fined in other states for allegedly not having a valid PUC. After repeated complaints, I personally visited the transport department to verify the issue. Officials told me that, due to technical issues, PUC certificates issued in Karnataka are not being uploaded to the Parivahan portal,” he said. Lag in integration of data on Parivahan portalThe operator said the officials cited ongoing software upgrades to fix the issue. “They said integration work is under way, and that the issues will be resolved soon,” he said. Several states, including Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Andhra Pradesh, have already completed full integration of PUC testing platforms with Parivahan (ensuring that PUC certificates are updated in real time on Parivahan). Karnataka is yet to complete this integration. Because of this interoperability gap, vehicle owners are facing repeated verification failures and steep fines. Penalties of Rs 10,000 are being issued even to those holding valid PUC certificates, he said. Tourist taxis affected too This issue is also affecting tourist taxi operators, said Radhakrishna Holla, president of the Karnataka State Travel Owners’ Association. “Parivahan allows motorists to store vehicle documents in a digital format, as PUC certificates not reflecting on the portal, private and commercial vehicle owners are facing multiple problems. Recently, two of our tourist taxis were fined in Goa despite carrying valid PUCs, and a penalty of Rs 10,500 each was imposed,” he said. Seamless PUC integration with the Vahan portal is critical for routine RTO processes. “PUC data syncing on Parivahan is essential for obtaining interstate permits, fitness certificates (FC), and other RTO-related clearances. When PUC details fail to upload, it leads to wrongful penalties,” he added. Govt responseTransport minister Ramalinga Reddy told TOI that he has directed officials to investigate the issue.
