Eight motor-vehicle dealers on Wednesday were slapped with violations of the Land Transportation Office Memorandum Circular on fast registration of motor vehicles.
The LTO’s Memorandum Circular 2021-2294 or the “Rules on the Initial Registration of Motorcycles and Penalties for Violations” was issued to car dealers who are given only seven to 11 days to process the registration, while motorcycle dealers are given three to five processing days.
LTO chief Jose Arturo Tugade said the three car dealers and five motorcycle dealers were penalized with up to P20,000 fine for violating the circular, for their failure to comply with the government’s regulation of fast registration.
LTO agents found that one dealer took nine days while the other two took 11 days to release the registration of each of the motorcycles purchased from them by three different individuals.
“Dealers have the responsibility of making sure that the vehicle registration processing time is observed strictly. Any delays may have repercussions on the public or client trying to purchase a vehicle in terms of their need for the vehicle, especially if it is needed for business,” Tugade said.
He added that the delay in the registration, especially on the issuance of plate numbers, may also mean additional backlogs on the issuance of license plates, which is being blamed on the agency itself even if it should not be totally the case.
“We don’t want that to happen anymore during my watch,” the LTO chief added.