New GRAP Rules in Delhi; Restrictions in NCR October 2026: How your car's year of purchase will decide entry in capital

Delhi-NCR's revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) has tightened restrictions on certain vehicles as the region prepares for annual worsening of air quality during winter months.

The new measures notified by Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has made many changes from the earlier restrictions. For car owners, however, the question this year is not how old the vehicle is or when it was purchased but the vehicle's fuel type and BS emission standard.

While there are no restrictions in first two stages of GRAP, under Stage III, strict restrictions will apply to BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel light motor vehicles (LMVs) in Delhi and five NCR districts: Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

So, as a car owner in Delhi-NCR, what do these new rules mean for you? Here is what you need to know.

This matters because the Stage III restrictions specifically target BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel LMVs. Unlike earlier guidelines, the revised GRAP rules does not impose the same restriction on all petrol and diesel cars.

Therefore, simply owning an older car does not by itself establish whether the vehicle is covered by the Stage III restriction. As owners, you need to check the vehicle's BS emission standard.

This means that as a car owner you should check the BS category mentioned in the vehicle documents and not assume eligibility purely from the vehicle's age.

Therefore, the safest way for a car owner to establish whether the vehicle falls under the restriction is to check its BS emission classification in the relevant vehicle documents.

You can also check the information on government's Parivahan portal. There by following some simple steps you can check your vehicle's status.

The restriction applies in Delhi as well as in high-vehicle-density districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar.

The revised GRAP document defines Stage III as AQI 401-450. The amended GRAP plan also allows measures to be invoked in advance based on weather and air-quality forecasts.

For private LMVs, the Stage III provision specifically covers Delhi and the five identified high-vehicle-density districts.

The document separately contains restrictions based on registration for certain goods vehicles. For example, Delhi-registered diesel BS-IV and below-standard medium goods vehicles face restrictions in Delhi, while such vehicles registered outside Delhi will not be permitted to enter Delhi. Diesel BS-IV and below-standard light goods vehicles registered outside Delhi are also barred from entering Delhi under Stage III.

So private car owners should not automatically apply the goods-vehicle rules to their vehicles.

So when Stage III is in force and you own one of these vehicles, then you need to take into account restrictions not only in Delhi but also in these specified NCR districts.

Therefore, if you own one of these vehicles then you need to check whether Stage III has been invoked before planning to drive in the restricted areas.

It is also important to remember that GRAP restrictions are cumulative, meaning when a higher stage is invoked, restrictions from the earlier stages continue as well.

The revised GRAP document says BS-III petrol and BS-IV diesel LMVs may be used by persons with disabilities provided the vehicles have been specifically adapted for them and are used only for their personal use.

The revised GRAP plan requires authorities to strictly enforce PUC norms from Stage I, including action against visibly polluting vehicles through impounding and/or penalties. It also calls for enforcement of existing restrictions on overaged petrol and diesel vehicles.

So having a valid PUC should not be interpreted as an exemption from a GRAP restriction that applies to the vehicle's BS category.

However, it does not specify a separate penalty amount for driving a BS-III petrol or BS-IV diesel LMV in violation of the Stage III restriction.