New Delhi: The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) notified amendments to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 on October 23, 2026, allowing E100 to be listed alongside E85 as a fuel option across several fuel tables, according to a notification published in the Gazette of India on October 26.
The notification, issued as G.S.R. 911(E) under Section 110 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, states that the amended rules will come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless otherwise provided. It was signed by Mahmood Ahmed, Additional Secretary in the ministry.
According to the notification, the Centre had first published the draft rules on April 27, 2026, through notification G.S.R. 313(E), and invited objections and suggestions from the public within 30 days. The ministry said the objections and suggestions received on the draft had been considered before the final rules were issued.
The central change is to rule 115 of the principal rules, where references to E85 under sub-rules (18), (19), (20) and (22) have been replaced with “E85 or E100”. The notification also inserts an explanatory note under sub-rule (19) stating that E85 or E100 shall be used in vehicles designed as flex fuel vehicles by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
In a related change under rule 115E, the reference to Annexure S for E100 vehicles has been replaced with Annexure SA, the notification said.
The amendments also update gasoline references in one of the tables, replacing the earlier entry with E10 and E20. In the same table, the gross weight threshold in the heading has been raised from 3,000 kg to 3,500 kg, and the B10 entry for biodiesel has been changed to B100.
The principal rules were originally published in June 1989 through G.S.R. 590(E). With the latest amendment, the rules now formally recognise E100 alongside E85 for flex fuel vehicles and include E20 in the gasoline fuel references, the notification indicated.
