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Good Question! - After all, Inspection is where you present your vehicle to the State to allow them to inspect it and certify that it meets all PA Laws, Codes, and Regulations.
The PA STATUTE or LAW Title 75 Chapter 47 4727b clearly states that an Inspection Certificate will NOT be issued unless the vehicle complies with all of the laws and department regulations.(b) Requirements for issuance of certificate.--An official certificate of inspection shall not be issued unless the vehicle or mass transit vehicle is inspected and found to be in compliance with the provisions of this chapter including any regulations promulgated by the department.
According to this Statute, it would be illegal for Inspection Stations to issue a Certificate of Inspection for a vehicle that violated any "provision of this chapter including any regulations..."
The reason they cannot fail a vehicle with LEGAL TINT is simply that it . . .
Why The Confusion?
Years ago the Inspection Stations were sent a confusing Safety Bulletin about window tinting. The State Police Inspection Supervisors also began to misinform them to reject any tinting.
The PA Inspection Stations got tired of this, since none of the above Laws or Regulations prohibited them from passing legally tinted vehicles. Complaints from them finally resulted in another Safety Bulletin in 1996, which pretended to take the tint issue from the Inspection Stations, and allow the police to restrict it themselves.
Believe it or Not!
Some police explain the1996 Safety Bulletin by reasoning that the Inspection Stations just didn't want to be bothered checking for tint, so they asked the State if it would be OK if they violated the above Statute and just passed illegal vehicles, and just let the police enforce that particular Law.
Really! It's written by an officer who is an expert in tint laws.
"Penn Dot came down in 1996 and said that tint was no longer part of the inspection process. They also said that it was still enforceable by law enforcement. This was at the request of the Garagemen's Association who didn't want to deal with it anymore."
So it appears that Penn Dot told the Police (in a Safety Bulletin addressed to Inspection Stations) that they should enforce this non-law because the Garagemen didn't want to deal with it anymore."