2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE NINE - Highways and Traffic (§§ 1-8 — 5725) › Chapter 27 - Vehicle and Traffic Law (2000) › Subchapter XI - Inspection of Vehicles (§§ 5351 — 5359) › § 5357 - Illegal acts and penalties

(a) Any person who simulates being authorized to operate a motor vehicle inspection station and certifies having inspected a motor vehicle without being duly authorized by the Secretary shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(b) Any person who drives a motor vehicle on the public roads in violation of the provisions of this subchapter with regard to mechanical conditions and the pollutant emissions control systems, even when the vehicle has been inspected and it so states in the certificate, shall incur an administrative fault and shall be punished with a fine of fifty dollars ($50).
(c) Any person who certifies that he/she has inspected a motor vehicle knowing that the mechanical conditions and pollutant emission control systems of said vehicle are not adequate pursuant to the provisions of this chapter and of the regulations issued by the Secretary, shall incur a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine of five hundred dollars ($500).
(d) Any person who steals, destroys, erases or alters an official certificate issued under this chapter and the regulations, while the same is in effect or valid, shall incur a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(e) Any person who uses or allows the use of any official inspection certificate in a vehicle knowing that it has been issued to another vehicle, or without the inspection having been made and approved, shall incur a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(f) Any person who makes available or uses the authorizations issued by the Secretary to operate an inspection station in a place other than that for which the Secretary granted his authorization, shall incur a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(g) Any owner, manager, or employee of an inspection center who refuses to issue an inspection certificate knowing that the mechanical conditions, pollutant emission control systems, and the equipment of said vehicle are adequate, shall incur a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(h) Any owner, manager, or employee of an official inspection center, automotive technician or mechanic or person who has altered, modified, removed or eliminated the catalytic converter system and related parts, and has not made the corresponding replacement, shall incur a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished with a fine that shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(i) When the person convicted under the above subsection is an automotive technician or mechanic, the court shall notify said conviction to the Automotive Technicians Examining Board, created by §§ 2131—2144 of Title 20, which shall be compelled to suspend the license issued to him/her for a term of two (2) years, as of the receipt of the notice.
(j) Any owner, manager, or employee of an official inspection center that charges a higher fee than that established in § 5356(e) of this title for the periodic motor vehicle inspections shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500).
(k) Any owner of an official inspection station who refuses to install and display a sign with the warnings to the public in a place that is visible as provided in § 5358 of this title shall be guilty of an administrative fault and shall be punished by a five hundred dollar ($500)-fine.
History —Jan. 7, 2000, No. 22, § 12.07, eff. 1 year after Jan. 7, 2000; Sept. 13, 2012, No. 243, § 1.