Only one govt car per official? Centre tightens official car rules; here's what you need to know

The Central government has tightened the rules governing the use of official vehicles, making it clear that an officer entitled to a government staff car cannot be allotted more than one official vehicle, even if they hold an additional charge of another ministry, department, public sector undertaking (PSU), or autonomous body.

The new directive, issued by the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance through an Office Memorandum (OM), is aimed at preventing the misuse of government vehicles and reducing avoidable public expenditure.

Under the revised norms, ministries and departments have been asked to strictly implement the "One Entitled Officer, One Official Car" policy. They have also been instructed to ensure that vehicles not currently in use are kept in safe custody instead of being deployed unnecessarily.

The order further bars Central government officials from using vehicles belonging to PSUs, autonomous bodies, or quasi-government organisations, except when they are on official duty or an authorised tour.

The Department of Expenditure said the move is intended to eliminate duplication in the allocation of official vehicles, improve administrative efficiency, and ensure the prudent use of public resources.

The latest Office Memorandum reinforces guidelines that were first issued in September 2022. As per this memorandum, the running cost of the cars is strictly managed by a cap of around 250 litres of fuel per month for each staff car. It further stated that crossing this limit requires special approval from the Administrative Secretary and Financial Advisor.

Entitled officers can use the official car for limited personal travel (up to 500 kms per month) by paying a fee of ₹3,000 per month and giving up their standard monthly transport allowance. Any personal or extra usage beyond the 500 km monthly threshold incurs a charge of ₹24 per additional kilometre.

The fresh instructions have now been circulated to all Union ministries and departments for strict compliance. The revised norms are designed to curb unnecessary expenditure and ensure that official vehicles are used only for legitimate government purposes. By enforcing the "One Officer, One Official Car" principle, the Centre hopes to streamline vehicle allocation while preventing misuse across ministries, departments, PSUs, and autonomous bodies.