Letting unfit vehicles ply up to five years raises concerns 

The government has extended the period for scrapping a motor vehicle that remains unfit for operation from one year to five years, raising concerns over the possibility of old and unsafe vehicles remaining on the roads for longer periods.

Under the newly issued Motor Vehicle Scrapping and Recycling Policy, 2026, a vehicle that remains without a valid fitness certificate for more than five years without reasonable grounds will become eligible for scrapping.

The Road Transport and Highways Division issued the policy on September 29, and it was gazetted on the same day.

While the new policy has shortened several stages of the scrapping process, the extension of the threshold for unfit vehicles has drawn concern from road safety and passenger rights advocates.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity Secretary General Mozammel Haque Chowdhury said the change would give vehicle owners additional time to keep unfit vehicles registered.

“Earlier, a vehicle could be scrapped after remaining unfit for more than one year. Now the period has been extended to five years,” he said.

He said the longer period could encourage the continued operation of unfit vehicles, potentially increasing risks for passengers and other road users.

However, Road Transport and Highways Division Additional Secretary Md Anisur Rahman said the change had been made to bring the policy in line with existing laws and procedures.

He said the previous policy provided for scrapping a vehicle after it remained unfit for more than one year, while the new policy sets the period at five years.

At the same time, he said, several deadlines in the scrapping process had been shortened to prevent vehicles already declared scrap-worthy from remaining in the process for an extended period.

Under the new policy, the period for serving a notice to the owner after a scrap-worthy vehicle is seized by police or another competent authority has been reduced from 30 days to 15 days. No notice will be required for an unauthorized manufactured motor vehicle.

The deadline for completing the disposal of a scrap vehicle has also been reduced from 30 working days to 15 working days. The time for issuing a scrapping certificate after destruction of a vehicle has been cut from 30 days to seven days.

The policy also introduces a new mechanism for determining the scrap value of vehicles. A committee will include representatives from the Department of Environment, a mechanical engineer from a public engineering university, passenger transport owners, goods transport owners and motor vehicle repair workshop owners.

The committee will have to determine the scrap value and recyclable parts of a vehicle within seven working days of receiving instructions from the relevant authority.

A separate auction committee has also been introduced. An auction involving registered scrap vendors will have to be completed within three working days based on the determined scrap value. The highest bidder will be assigned responsibility for scrapping the vehicle.

The policy further requires both the chassis and engine numbers of scrapped vehicles to be destroyed in a manner that prevents their reuse in other vehicles.

It also allows government or autonomous organisations to act as scrap vendors when suitable private vendors are unavailable. The Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) may also carry out scrapping operations through its own arrangements if necessary.

The policy provides financial support for owners of commercial passenger and goods vehicles whose vehicles are scrapped. They may receive loans on easy terms and at low interest rates, or financial incentives where applicable, against a scrapping certificate to help them purchase newer vehicles.

The World Bank has also highlighted concerns over ageing vehicles in Bangladesh. According to its recent analysis, the country had more than six million registered vehicles in 2024. The average age of buses was more than 20 years, while trucks averaged more than 15 years.