LTO temporarily suspends collection of plate replacement fees

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has announced that it will temporarily stop collecting fees for replacement of old license plates.

The order came after the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a notice of disallowance to the agency.

This means that vehicle owners who have not yet paid for the new license plates will not have to shell out P450 upon their renewal of registration.

“We are currently in the process of resolving the issue with the COA regarding the Plate Standardization Program. We hope issues will be resolved and COA lifts the disallowance so we can provide the public with plates for improved road safety,” said Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya in a statement.

The LTO has assured that the new standardized plates will be issued to motorists who have settled the payment as soon as the issue with COA is resolved.

In May 2014, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the LTO rolled out the Plate Standardization Program for newly registered vehicles.

In January 2015, the LTO issued Memorandum Circular No. AVT-2014-1895, mandating vehicle owners to replace their old license plates with the new standardized plates.

According to the LTO, the standardization program aims to curb illegal practices such as “tanggal-plaka” or plate removal or switching which is prevalent in car theft cases and “colorum” public utility vehicles.

The standardization program will also phase out the nine various designs of license plates.