Notification, 2021

Text

Reproduced from the document India Code holds for this instrument. The Gazette prints Hindi and English side by side and this is the English; the Department's own PDF remains the authority.

EXTRAORDINARY

PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY

No. 428] NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2021/SRAVANA 12, 1943

MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, the 2nd August, 2021

G.S.R. 527(E).— The following draft of certain rules further to amend the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, which the Central Government proposes to make in exercise of the powers conferred by clauses (v), (w), (x), and (y) of sub-section (2) of section 164C read with section 164B of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ( 59 of 1988) is hereby published as required by sub-section (1) of Section 212 of the said Act for information of all persons likely to be affected thereby and notice is hereby given that the said draft rules shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of a period of 30 days from the date on which the copies of this notification as published in the Gazette of India, are made available to the public;

The objections or suggestions which may be received from any person with respect to the said draft rules before the expiry of the period aforesaid will be considered by the Central Government; Objections and suggestions to these draft rules, if any, may be sent to the Joint Secretary (MVL), email : comments-morth@gov.in, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Transport Bhawan, 1, Parliament

DRAFT RULES

1. Short title and commencement. — (1) These rules may be called the Central Motor Vehicles (Motor Vehicle Accident Fund) Rules, 2021.

(2) These shall come into force on the date of their final publication in the official Gazette.

2. Definitions. — In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, — a. ―Act‖ means the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988) as amended from time to time; b. ―Fund‖ means the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund as formulated under Section 164B, which shall include the ―Account for Insured Vehicles‖, ―Account for Uninsured/Hit and Run‖, and the ―Hit and c. ―Account for Insured Vehicles‖ means such part of the Fund that is utilized for the cashless treatment of victims of motor accidents caused by insured vehicles in accordance with Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act;

d. ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident‖ means such part of the Fund that is utilized for the cashless treatment of victims of motor accidents caused by uninsured vehicles/ hit and run accidents in accordance with Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act; f. ―Hit and Run Compensation Fund‖ means such part of the Fund that is utilized for the payment of compensation for victims of hit and run accidents as per Section 161 of the Act, read with the Central Motor Vehicles (Compensation to victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents) Rules, 2021; g. ―Hospital‖ means any healthcare service provider providing treatment to a road accident victim under the Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act;

h. ―MoRTH‖ means Ministry of Road Transport & Highways;

i. ―Designated agency‖ means agency entrusted by the Central Government for implementation of the scheme framed under section 162 of the Act;

j. ―Trust‖ means a trust set up in accordance with Rule 4 of these rules; k. Words and expressions used in these rules but not defined, shall have the same meanings as assigned to them under the Act.

3. Establishment of Motor Vehicle Accident Fund. – The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund shall be constituted in accordance with sub-section (1) of Section 164B of the Act, and shall comprise of the following three accounts: a. Account for Insured Vehicles;

b. Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident; and c. Hit and Run Compensation Fund.

4. Formation of Trust. — (1) A public charitable Trust shall be duly constituted and registered in accordance with the applicable laws in India, and the Trustees of the Trust shall hold the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (Trust Corpus), which will comprise of the initial corpus and further contributions, as per Rule 10.

(2) The primary object of the Trust shall be to utilize the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, in accordance with these rules, towards:

(a) Providing compensation in the case of hit and run accidents in accordance with Section 161 of the Act read with Compensation to victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2021;

(b) Providing cashless treatment to victims of road accident in accordance with Section 162 of the Act;

(c) Providing compensation to such other persons as may be specified in these Rules.

(3) The Trust shall be governed by these rules and the Trust Deed formulated under Rule 7.

5. Composition of the Trust. - The Trust shall comprise of the following Trustees, namely: — Designation of Member Role in the Trust

1. Joint Secretary, MoRTH Trustee (Chairperson)

2. Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance Trustee - Member

3. Joint Secretary, Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance Trustee - Member

4. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health & Family welfare Trustee - Member

5. Member (Non-life), Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India Trustee - Member

7. Representative of Pr. CCA, MoRTH Trustee - Member

8. Secretary General, General Insurance Council Trustee - Member

9. A representative of MoRTH as nominated by Chairman Trustee - Member

10. Nominee of the Road Safety Committee constituted by the Supreme Court of India Trustee- Member

6. Powers and functions of the Trustees. — For the furtherance of the objects of the Trust, and matters incidental or ancillary to the attainment thereof, the trust shall have the following powers.- a. Periodical review of the working and utilization of the Motor Vehicles Accident Fund (Trust Corpus), and make recommendations to the Central Government for relevant corrective steps, wherever necessary; b. Make recommendations to the Central Government on the implementation of the Compensation to victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2021 and the Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act; c. Annual review of the quantum based on the receipt of contributions comprising of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (Trust Corpus) made under rule 10 and utilization thereof, d. Deliberate upon any issues raised by organizations or agencies responsible for the implementation of the Compensation to victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2021 and the Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act;

e. any other issues arising during implementation of the scheme(s) utilizing this fund.

7. Trust Deed. - (1) The Trust shall be governed by a Trust Deed formulated in accordance with these rules, and the Trust Deed shall be in addition to and not in derogation of these rules. Provided that in case of any inconsistency between the clauses of the Trust Deed and these rules, these rules shall supersede.

(2) The Trust Deed shall include the following clauses:

a. Name and objects of the Trust;

b. Initial Trust Corpus and additions to the corpus;

c. Board of Trustees;

d. Powers and responsibilities of Trustees;

e. Meetings of the trustees, including quorum, minutes, notice of meetings and voting; f. Delegation of powers on behalf of the Trust and appointment of officers; g. Power to frame rules, regulations and bye laws of the Trust; h. Requirement and mechanism for annual internal audit by one or more properly qualified independent auditor(s) and their manner of appointment;

i. Requirement of maintenance of records and accounts of the Trust Corpus; j. Power to amend the Trust Deed; and k. Dissolution of the Trust.

8. Maintenance of record, accounts and audit of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund

(1) The Trustees shall keep and maintain such documents, filings, books and records in the interest of proper and transparent administration of the Trust and in compliance with applicable laws in India.

(2) The Trustees shall give true and accurate accounts of all money received and spent and all matters in respect thereof in the course of management of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (Trust Corpus) or in relation to carrying out the objectives of the Trust as well as all the assets and liabilities related to the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (Trust Corpus).

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-clauses (1) and (2), the Trustees shall maintain proper accounts, including an Annual Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund and records with respect to – a. all sums of money received and expended and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure have taken place;

b. the assets and liabilities of the Trust; and c. minutes of meetings of trustees.

(4) The books and statements of account maintained by the Trustees shall be examined, audited and certified, every financial year, by one or more qualified independent auditors, appointed by the Trustees.

(5) The Trustees shall prepare once every year, an annual report of the activities of the Trust and a copy of the same, along with the copy of the audited accounts, at the end of the financial year, shall be furnished to MoRTH, not later than July, 31 st of the same calendar year.

(6) The accounts of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (Trust Corpus) shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor- General of India in accordance with Section 164B (8) of the Act.

(7) The accounts of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, as certified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, together with the audit report, shall be forwarded annually to the Central Government, which shall cause the same to be laid before each House of the Parliament.

9. Inspection and Audit by the Central Government. -

(1) The Central Government may undertake directly or through its authorized representative(s), inspection and audit of the books, accounts, records and documents of the Trust.

(2) The Central Government may exercise the power in sub-clause (1) including, but not limited to, any of the following grounds, -

(a) to ensure that the books of account, records and documents are being properly maintained;

(b) to ascertain whether the provisions of the Act, these rules, all relevant circulars, guidelines or notifications issued by the Central Government are being complied with;

(c) to inquire into the complaints received from road accident victims, or any other person, on any matter having a bearing on the activities of the Trust;

(d) to inquire suo moto into such matters as may be deemed fit in the interest of objectives of this Trust.

(3) For the purpose of inspection or audit under this rule, the Trust, Trustees, Chairperson and other officers of the Trust, shall provide reasonable access to and furnish all information, documents, records and systems in its possession relating to the Trust.

(4) On completion of the inspection and audit, the Central Government may take such action as it may deem fit and appropriate in the interest of the objectives of the Trust.

10. Sources of funds of the Motor Vehicle Accident fund. – The sources of funds for each of the components of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund are as follows: -

(a) Account for Insured Vehicles- The ―Account for Insured Vehicles‖ shall be credited with the following:

(i) All insurance companies carrying on the business of general insurance in India shall contribute such amount as may be specified by the Trust in consultation with General Insurance Council, to the Account for Insured Vehicles.

(ii) The Trust shall ensure that a minimum balance is maintained in the Account for Insured Vehicles at the end of each quarter, or when the total amount of the Account is less than 20 percent of the minimum balance, whichever is greater.

(b) Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident- The ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accidents‖ shall be credited with the following:

(i) the fee collected by the Central Government for using certain sections of the National Highways (user fee) as per National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008; or

(ii) through budgetary grant from Consolidated Fund of India; or

(iii) fine collected under Section 198A of the Act; or

(iv) any other source, as may be specified by the central Government.

(c) Hit and Run Compensation Fund: - The Hit and Run Compensation Fund shall be credited with the following:

a. the current balance under the Solatium Scheme, 1989, as on the date of commencement of these rules; b. all funds due and yet to be realized under the Solatium Scheme, 1989, from Insurance Companies carrying on the business of general insurance in India from the date of commencement of the Solatium Scheme till the date of commencement of these Rules; and c. Such percentage of total third party premium collected by insurance companies carrying on the business of general insurance in India by the general insurance companies as notified by the Central Government on an annual basis, taking into account the actual disbursements from the Hit and Run Compensation Fund in the preceding year.

11. Utilization of the Components of Motor Vehicle Accident fund- The components of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund shall be utilized as follows-

(a) Account for Insured Vehicles- i. The Account for Insured Vehicles shall be utilized for the cashless treatment of victims of accidents caused by insured vehicles.

ii. The claim amount of the Hospital for providing cashless treatment shall be disbursed by the designated agency.

iii. It shall be administered by GIC under supervision of the Trust.

(b) Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident- i. The ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident‖ shall be utilized for providing cashless treatment to victims of accidents caused by uninsured vehicles and hit and run accident victims. ii. The claim amount of the Hospital for providing cashless treatment, shall be disbursed by the designated agency to the Hospital.

iii. It shall be administered by GIC under the supervision of the Trust.

(c) Hit and Run Compensation Fund: - i. Hit and Run Compensation Fund shall be utilized for providing compensation to hit and run accident victims, and reimbursement of claim amount raised by the hospital for cashless treatment of hit and run accident victims, as per Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act, to the Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident in accordance with rule.

ii. It shall be administered by GIC under the supervision of MoRTH.

12. Disbursement of funds for cashless treatment. -

1. This rule shall be read with the Scheme framed under Section 162 of the Act.

2. The trust shall transfer the fund to the designated agency, for implementation of the Scheme framed under section 162 of the Act

3. In case of motor accidents caused by insured vehicles, the approved claim amount shall be disbursed by the designated agency to the Hospital from the Account for Insured Vehicles.

4. In case of motor accidents caused by uninsured vehicles, the approved claim amount shall be disbursed by the designated agency to the Hospital from the Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident. Provided that if the MACT has passed an award for compensation against the owner of such uninsured vehicle causing the accident, wherein the amount for cashless treatment has been disbursed, the owner/authorised insurer shall be liable to reimburse the amount spent on cashless treatment to the ―Account for Uninsured/Hit and Run Accident‖.

5. In case of a hit and run motor accident, -

(i) the approved claim amount shall be disbursed by the designated agency to the Hospital from the ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident‖.

(ii) After disbursement of approved claim amount by the designated agency, the approved claim amount, limited to the fixed sum compensation payable under Section 161(2), shall be transferred from the ―Hit and Run Compensation Fund‖ to the ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident‖. Provided that when the approved claim amount is less than the fixed sum compensation payable under

Section 161(2), the balance compensation amount shall be payable to the victim from the ―Hit and Provided further that when the approved claim amount is more than the fixed sum compensation payable under section 161(2), the excess approved claim amount shall be borne by the ―Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident‖.

6. If the identity of the motor vehicle causing the hit and run accident is subsequently identified: a. before the approved claim amount is disbursed from the Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident to the Hospital, or b. after the approved claim amount is disbursed from the Account for Uninsured vehicles/Hit and Run Accident to the Hospital, but before the award is passed by the MACT under Section 161; the owner/authorised insurer shall be liable to reimburse the approved claim amount spent on the cashless treatment of the victim to the ―Account of Uninsured/Hit and Run Accident‖.

7. If the identity of the motor vehicle causing the hit and run accident is identified, after the compensation amount in accordance with Compensation of victims of Hit & Run Accidents Scheme, 2021, has been transferred, the authorized insurer or the owner, against whom the award has been passed by the MACT, shall transfer the compensation amount to ―Hit and Run Compensation Fund‖. Provided that in case the approved claim amount is more than the compensation amount awarded by the MACT, the authorized insurer or the owner against whom the award has been passed by the MACT shall be liable to transfer only the compensation awarded by the MACT under Section 161. Explanation- For purposes of this rule, ―approved claim amount‖ shall mean such claim amount approved by the designated agency.

13. Disbursement of funds for Hit and Run Compensation. - In case of hit and run motor accidents, the compensation under Section 161 of the Act shall be disbursed from the Hit and Run Compensation Fund in accordance with the Compensation to victims of Hit and Run Motor Accidents Scheme, 2021.

14. Duties of organizations authorised by the Central Government for administration of Fund: - a. to maintain proper records of the claims received and disbursed in Form specified by CAG; b. to make payment as per the specified time limit under the schemes framed under this Act; c. to provide reports in the format as specified by the Central Government; d. maintenance of absolute integrity in respect of personnel and records; e. Any other duties as may be specified by the Central Government. AMIT VARADAN, Jt. Secy.

and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.

SURENDER MAHADASAM

Provisions this notification answers to

Read out of the instrument itself: an enabling provision is one it says it was made under, which is the power it rests on. The rest it names without resting on.

Other instruments under the same Act

All of the The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988