The West Bengal government has introduced an official vehicle flag scheme for IAS officers, under which some officials would be allowed to display designated official flags on their government vehicles based on their rank.
The flags may be used only during official duty and do not provide any exemption from traffic rules.
According to a notification issued on May 30, 2026, the scheme would be applicable to senior IAS officers including the Chief Secretary, Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, Secretaries, Divisional Commissioners and District Magistrates.
The notification issued by the state government stated, “In view of the significant rise in the level of interaction with various International and National level authorities, it is felt that a flag for use on vehicles being used by senior officials of the State Government shall convey a greater sense of Government’s intent and enable smoother interactions without compromising protocol.”
Under the directions given by the government, the flag on the flag-staff affixed to the centre of the bonnet of the vehicle with an attachment on the front grill. The flag should only be displayed when the officer is using the vehicle strictly for official purposes and should be taken off when the officer is not travelling in the vehicle.
The directive also mentioned that the flag must always be kept clean and in proper condition. It should also not be used to seek exemption from penalty for any violation of traffic rules. The revised guidelines have also assigned different flag shapes to officials according to their designation.
The Transport Department would be procuring all thees flags and flag staffs to ensure uniformity of the material and their make.
It has also been mentioned that the Office of the OSD to the Chief Secretary, Under Secretary shall act as the custodian of flags and issue them to the concerned officers along with the approval of the Chief Secretary.
The Office of the OSD to Chief Secretary and Under Secretary would be maintaining an updated database of flags
issued against the name and rank of officers, and the vehicle registration number which would be shared with the authorities of National Highways Authority of India, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Police Directorate or the Kolkata Police.