The Supreme Court Wednesday said that no Bharat Stage IV vehicle shall be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020. The Bharat stage emission standards are standards instituted by the government to regulate output of air pollutants from motor vehicles. The Bharat Stage VI (or BS-VI) emission norm would come into force from April 1, 2020 across the country. A three judge bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur made it clear that only BS VI compliant vehicle shall be sold in the country from that date. The bench said the need of the hour was to move to a cleaner fuel.
BS IV norms have been enforced across the country since April 2017.
In 2016, the Centre had announced that the country would skip BS-V norms altogether and adopt BS-VI norms by 2020. Earlier it was reported that German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz can bring in BS VI emission compliant models as early as 2018 to India for which it can also forge partnership with oil firms for higher grade oil. The car maker has already sought help from various ministries, including Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which has asked them to get in touch with oil and gas firms.
“We would be ready as early as 2018. We could bring the first set of vehicles in 2018 into the country,” Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Roland Folger told PTI when asked about the company’s plans regarding launch of vehicles compliant with Bharat Stage (BS) VI emission norms. German luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz can bring in BS VI emission compliant models as early as 2018 to India for which it can also forge partnership with oil firms for higher grade oil. The car maker has already sought help from various ministries, including Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, which has asked them to get in touch with oil and gas firms.