$75,000 fine for illegal tint, on-the-spot meter checks – Home Affairs Minister

Under the Government’s new tint policy, vehicle owners and operators found in breach can now face fines of up to $75,000. This is according to Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond, who noted that police officers will now be equipped with special tint meters which they will be required to use during any enforcement campaigns on the roadways.

On Friday, the Home Affairs Minister announced that with immediate effect, there will be a universal provision for basic tint without waiver, which stipulates that all motor vehicles will now be allowed tint with no less than 35 per cent light penetration; windshields will be allowed 70 per cent light penetration. This applies across the board and does not require any tint waiver. However, restricted waivers for high security categories will be introduced. Categories one and two will apply strictly to diplomats, Government officials, high profile security related persons and other specific categories expressly approved by the Home Affairs Minister. To support an orderly transition, motor vehicle operators are granted a compliance period up to December 31, 2025. After this date, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) will commence aggressive nationwide enforcement operations. Expanding on this new policy during a State-produced programme, Minister Walrond disclosed that the laws will be amended to provide for a fine of $75,000 for those found in breach. “There will be tint meters and the police officer will have specific meters to test your tint on the spot. And if you’re found not to be in compliance, then there will be a heavy fine of $75,000 being levied for not having your tint in compliance,” she noted. “We will go take the amendment to parliament. In the amendment, we will outline the regime and how we’re going to execute the compliance. We will outline the categories of persons that will be exempt from the tint, which I’ve already mentioned, diplomats and Government officials and security, et cetera. It will outline how enforcement will be rolled out in terms of the tint meter, how that is going to be calibrated, how that is going to be executed, the period for the fine. So, it’s going to outline the entire regime, compliance and enforcement in the amendment. And most of it is already drafted with a few adjustments that we have already made,” she added. Walrond had previously explained that this decision was made having conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the system and following consultations with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and other technical experts. Additionally, she said it was in the interest of equity and to eliminate administrative delays. “When we examined it, we realised…that the issues that we thought was connected to the having a tint on the vehicle, which is encouraging crime, [we] realised that the data did not correlate, that it did not substantiate the fact that if you have a tint on your vehicle, that you are likely to be involved in criminal activity. And also, in addition to the fact that with the climate change and ultraviolet (UV) exposure, realising that being open and being exposed to UV exposure was in fact unhealthy. And so, there was no basis of which we could hold back, not giving citizens the permission to have tint on their vehicles,” she explained during the Department of Public Information (DPI) programme. Vehicle owners and operators are being encouraged to get themselves in compliance during this period, since strict enforcement will begin January 1. “In the interim, the Guyana Police Force is expected to forbear on all enforcement to get people…to comply, thereafter, after the 31st [December], then the strict enforcement will commence,” Walrond noted.