By the end of March all commercial passenger vehicles will have to be fitted with a new style of number plate embossed with the vehicle's type and the township identification number of where it is registered.

The announcement was made in a statement issued by the junta’s Road Transport Administration Department on 19 January. It said that long-distance and local buses, taxis, departmental cars and commercial vehicles will have to have the new number plates by 31 March, whereas private vehicles must have the new style plates installed when they do their annual number plate renewal.

The new style embossed number plates are currently being sold for 9,000 kyats by the junta authorities and every vehicle owner will have to buy one when they renew their number plate, according to the Naypyitaw Road Transport Administration Department.

It also said that all newly registered vehicles will come with the new-style number plates.

“Everyone has to buy a new-style embossed plate. If you don’t [buy one] you won’t get the owner’s book back or car wheel tax”, said an agent.

The junta first started getting vehicles to install the new style embossed number plates six months after the coup.