Car Accessories & Legally Modified Cars in India

One of the major questions that have emerged since modifications to cars have been made illegal by the supreme court, include what modifications are legal, especially for those that need vehicles for special use. Read on to find out what is legal and what is not!

Extreme modifications like these are just asking for trouble as per the current amendments!

A previous Express Drives story, outlined the Supreme Court Order that outlined the fact that all modifications to the structure of a vehicle that is not mentioned in the registration certificate have been outlawed. That is if those modifications are done without the consent of the local Regional Transport Office. However, over the course of the last two weeks, we received dozens of emails and personal messages asking whether this law was absolute and whether there are any exceptions to the law. Having probed the finer parts of the matter here is what we know!

We have all been there, and for good reason modified cars are awesome! In the past we have even done many a story about modified Thars and even a few modified Maruti Suzuki Swifts, but now, if the Supreme Court really begins the crack down all of them could soon be a thing of the past!

Let’s start with modifications that are outlawed. Changing the paint on your motor vehicle to something not mentioned as per your registration certificate, even wraps for that matter, cannot be done without getting the colour of your vehicle changed as per your registration certificate by notifying your registering RTO. Upsized wheels that change the track (width between tyres) of your vehicle are entirely illegal, although minor changes that do not change the dimensions of the vehicle are possible.

As to what changes you can make,  according to section 52 of the Motor Vehicle act, any changes you make to the vehicle should not exceed 2% of the weight of the vehicle according to your registration certificate. Perhaps, most importantly, changes to the car that are required to be adapted vehicles for special purposes, including for the use of handicapped individuals are possible. With subsequent approvals for the adapted vehicle changes can be made to a vehicle provided that such alteration complies with such conditions as may be imposed by the Central Government.

Finally, other changes that are legal include retrofitting of safety equipment as prescribed by the central government. In addition the law also protection in case manufacture policy voids the alteration stating “ Provided further that the Central Government may prescribe specifications, conditions for approval, retrofitment and other related matters for the alteration of motor vehicles and in such cases, the warranty granted by the manufacturer shall not be considered as void for the purposes of such alteration or retrofitment”.