Kathmandu, August 20

The Department of Transport Management has finalised its preparatory work to instal the much-hyped embossed registration number plates on vehicles in Kathmandu Valley. It plans to instal the new number plates on government-owned vehicles initially, beginning tomorrow.

“We are going to begin this service from Monday. In the first phase we’ll provide the embossed number plates to government vehicles,” said DoTM Director General Rup Narayan Bhattarai.

After installing embossed number plates on government vehicles and vehicles belonging to diplomatic agencies, DoTM will provide new number plates to vehicles that are registered in the Bagmati zone.

“We have to check the system first. Only if the trial on government-owned vehicles is successful will private and public vehicles get embossed number plates,” he said, adding, “After all the vehicles in the Bagmati zone have received the plates shall we extend this service to other parts of the country.”

DoTM plans to complete the process of installing embossed number plates in five years. According to DoTM, motorbike owners will have to pay Rs 2,500, light four-wheeler and tractor owners Rs 3,200 and heavy vehicle owners Rs 3,600 to get embossed number plates.

A Cabinet meeting held on August 7 had fixed the rate of embossed number plates by amending Schedule 4 of the Motor Vehicle Regulations. The rates were set as per the recommendation of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport and were endorsed by the Ministry of Finance.

According to DoTM, the embossed number plates will replace normal number plates at front and at rear of vehicles.  DoTM will also instal lock mechanism whereby users will not be able to change number plates of vehicles at their discretion. “Only those embossed number plates will be changed that may be completely damaged, such as in a road accidents,” Bhattarai said.

A joint venture company, Decatur Tiger of Bangladesh, was awarded the tender to supply embossed number plates through a global bidding system. The government had planned to introduce this system in the beginning of this year, but DoTM could not initiate it.

The embossed number plate system was first envisioned in the government’s three-year interim plan, 2007-10. However, the plan was constantly deferred due to the inability of the government to import required machinery to print such digital licence plates.

Digital plates

• Embossed number plates will keep a digital record of vehicles
• They have raised lettering and numbering unlike traditional licence plates that are

  handwritten

• Embossed plates come with radio-frequency identification system, which reveals the model and the manufacturer’s and the user’s name
• RFIS also tracks the movement of vehicles