Aadhaar e-KYC to be made mandatory for vehicle registration in Karnataka

Just as Aadhaar, PAN card or passport has been made mandatory for property registration, the Karnataka government is considering making Aadhaar e-KYC compulsory for the registration of new vehicles as well.

Aadhaar has already been made mandatory for obtaining a driving licence. On similar lines, the government has decided to link Aadhaar to accurately verify the address and identity of vehicle owners. This move is expected to curb cases of vehicle registrations using fake addresses.

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Karnataka will become the first state in the country to implement an Aadhaar-based e-KYC system for vehicle registration. This service will be available at all Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) and registered vehicle dealer centres across Karnataka.

Curb on middlemen

Apart from reducing the interference of middlemen in RTO offices, the system is also expected to help provide corruption-free services. If any vehicle is involved in an accident or unlawful activity, Aadhaar e-KYC will help authorities quickly trace the owner.

At present, some people register vehicles using rented houses or even non-existent addresses. Tracking such cases becomes difficult. If Aadhaar e-KYC is made mandatory, the real identity of an individual will be verified through biometrics or OTP authentication. This will prevent the creation of fake documents for vehicle registration.

Tracing owners

If a person purchases a vehicle in someone else’s name, linking Aadhaar and PAN card will make it easier to identify such transactions. Since all transactions will be linked either to the ‘Kutumba’ app or government databases, the government will have accurate information about the total assets held in a person’s name.

Aadhaar-based e-KYC will also help check the influence of middlemen in RTO and registration offices. As services under the Sakala scheme are bound by timelines, officials will not be able to delay processes unnecessarily. Faceless services are also expected to reduce corruption.

In hit-and-run cases, linking vehicles with Aadhaar will make it easier to trace owners of vehicles involved in accidents and fleeing the scene. It will also help prevent the re-registration of stolen vehicles or the sale of vehicles after changing engine numbers. If there are pending fines for traffic violations, they will be directly linked to the owner’s digital profile, making it difficult to evade payment of penalties.

(This article was originally published in The Federal Karnataka)