The PUC, or "Pollution under Control," certificate lets you know that the emissions of your car are under control and that it is safe to drive on public roads.
Any authorised emissions testing facility will be able to provide you with a PUC certificate. A PUC certificate attests that a vehicle's carbon monoxide emissions are below allowable levels under the law. One of the main documents needed to drive across the nation is this certificate.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has therefore instructed insurers to refrain from insuring a vehicle in the absence of a valid PUC certificate.
“Vehicle owners will be required to present a valid PUC certificate when renewing their insurance, according to the Irdai notification. As per law, no vehicle may operate without third-party insurance, a rule that is frequently broken due to lax enforcement. The Irdai decision is based on a Supreme Court judgement which stated that insurers cannot insure a car unless it has an effective PUC certificate on the date of policy renewal," said Sanjiv Bajaj, Jt. chairman and MD, Bajaj Capital Ltd. However, that doesn’t mean your insurance claim will be rejected if you don't have a valid PUC certificate.
New KYC standards: As of November, there is no connection between the PUC certificate and the newly adopted KYC standard for facilitating the payment of insurance claims.
“There is no such update yet. Irdai released a circular on 26 August 2020 after they observed that some media reports misrepresented the earlier circular issued by the regulator. Thus, in August 2020, Irdai clarified that if you don’t hold a valid PUC certificate, it doesn’t mean that it is a valid reason for denying claim under a motor insurance policy," said Deo.
Animesh Das, senior director of motor underwriting at ACKO, said, “Insurance claims are not dependent on PUC status. Some misleading information in the market claims that PUC is mandatory for claims, but that is incorrect."
As an illustration, if your PUC certificate expires and tautyour car is involved in an accident shortly after, the insurer is required by law to pay your claim.
Validity: The PUC certificate is only good for the first year after you purchase a new car. After that, whether you have a petrol or diesel automobile, you must perform a PUC check every three or six months. Therefore, in order to renew the PUC certificate, it is necessary to have your vehicle's pollutant emission levels tested on a regular basis.
Electric Vehicles: Electric vehicles don't need a PUC certificate (EVs). Das said, “EVs are environment-friendly and hence there is no such provision."
