Used car sellers report RC transfers pending for months: what Form 29C and MoRTH's new draft say

Sellers keep getting challans for cars they no longer own

The pattern is the same every time. The car is handed over, the money is in, and then an e-challan, a police enquiry or an insurance query lands in the old owner's name because the registration certificate was never moved.

Searches on Team-BHP return at least five separate threads on this, including a long multi-page one titled "Need Advice. Car sold but not transferred", another called "Old car sold, new owner refusing to transfer ownership", one whose title says a bike sold to a used-vehicle platform still had no RC transfer after four years, and a thread asking whether a previous owner's challans should be cleared before buying. Those forum pages returned an access error for me, so I am going only by what the search listings show. I have no post counts, dates or quotes from inside them.

Complaint boards did open. ConsumerComplaints.in lists 1,430 complaints against Cars24 Services, 694 marked resolved and 736 unresolved. Six of the 15 complaints on the first page are about registration or ownership transfer, dated June 2025 to July 2026, one of them titled "RC transfer pending for 2+ years". For Spinny, the same board lists 71 complaints in all, of which 12 concern RC transfer or challans, spread from 2022 to 2026, including one whose title says the RC was not transferred after 14 months. These are buyers' and sellers' own accounts, not verified findings.

The official process already covers this

The mParivahan transfer of ownership page is clear on the deadlines. The buyer must apply in Form 30 within fourteen days of the transfer for a vehicle registered in the same state, and within forty-five days if it was registered outside the state, with fees and taxes under Rule 81. The seller separately reports the fact of transfer in Form 29.

For dealer sales there is a second route. Autocar Professional reported that MoRTH notified G.S.R 901(E) on 22 December 2022, under which a used vehicle dealer needs an authorisation certificate in Form 29B, valid for five years against a Rs 25,000 application fee, and the owner handing over the car files Form 29C. The report says the dealer "shall be liable towards any incident until the vehicle is transferred into a new owner's name". A follow-up report said the Vahan sub-portal for dealer authorisation opened from 1 April 2023, that Form 29C is jointly signed by seller and dealer and uploaded at handover, and that the dealer becomes the deemed owner while the car is in stock.

So the fix exists on paper. The complaints suggest Form 29C often is not filed at all.

A compliance advisory summarising a MoRTH draft amendment to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules says it would cap dealer holding at six months from the Form 29C date, limit transfers in possession to two dealers, add a new Form 29CA for dealer to dealer handovers, and pass ownership to the last dealer if the six months lapse. A compliance tracker lists that draft as G.S.R. 665(E) of 24 July 2026. It is a draft, not law.

Cars24's own help page says RC transfer takes 30 to 120 days depending on the state. Its Seller Kavach release of 25 February 2026 offers sellers an optional paid add-on covering post-sale challans, accident liability, police complaints and legal representation until the transfer is reflected in Vahan records.

What an owner should do now

If you are selling, do not hand over the car without a signed delivery note, and insist on Form 29C with the portal acknowledgement number if the buyer is a dealer. File Form 29 yourself. Keep the mobile number in the RC current so notices reach you, and check Vahan and echallan.parivahan.gov.in once a month until the name changes.

If you are buying, check pending challans before paying, and file Form 30 within fourteen days, or forty-five if the car is from another state. Get the bank NOC and hypothecation removal in writing.

If it stalls, file a written grievance with the RTO, escalate to the platform's customer care, and then to the National Consumer Helpline on 1915 or WhatsApp 8800001915, which also takes complaints through the NCH and UMANG apps.

Has your RC transfer gone through on time, and how long did your RTO take? Tell the club what worked.

Sources

• Transfer of Ownership, mParivahan (MoRTH)
• MoRTH tightens grip on used vehicle dealers to ensure transparency, Autocar Professional
• MoRTH to kick off used vehicle dealer authorisation process, Autocar Professional
• CARS24 Services complaints and reviews, ConsumerComplaints.in
• Spinny complaints and reviews, ConsumerComplaints.in
• How Cars24 is tackling RC transfer in India
• CARS24 introduces Seller Kavach to protect owners post-sale
• MoRTH proposes changes to motor vehicle ownership transfer rules, Corpseed
• Draft Notification of the Central Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2026, Simpliance
• National Consumer Helpline