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Fraud in Vehicle Emission Testing: How Fake Certificates Worsen India’s Air Pollution Crisis

Tula Shiva Kumar , Sneha Yadav

Emission testing fraud isn’t just an environmental crime — it’s a betrayal of public trust. Across India’s cities, centres have been caught handing out certificates prepared in advance, faking tests by merely attaching nozzle pipes, and rigging results to let toxic vehicles stay on the road.

Air pollution is choking our cities, and vehicles are among the biggest culprits. Every day, cars and two-wheelers pump out toxic fumes that damage the air we breathe. Instead of keeping polluting vehicles off the road, many emission testing centres look the other way. Fake pollution certificates and rigged readings have reduced pollution checks to a sham, letting toxic vehicles pass while the air grows dirtier and the health risks deadlier. 

The statistics on air pollution-related deaths worldwide are shocking. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution caused by vehicular emissions results in 7 million premature deaths annually. Doctors warn that vehicular pollution is one of the main contributors to cardiac problems. In India alone, an estimated 1,500 tonnes of pollutants are released daily by the more than 80 lakh motor vehicles that move through metropolitan areas.

The major pollutants measured in the vehicular emission test majorly include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide(CO2), hydrocarbons and particulate matter (PM). These gases don’t just contribute to greenhouse emissions but also create ground-level ozone and PM2.5, both of which are dangerous for human lungs. In reality, the picture is incomplete. Most testing centres report only CO, CO₂ and PM while ignoring others like SO₂, NO₂, ammonia (NH₃) and lead. Guess what? These “hidden pollutants” are equally harmful.

Vehicle emissions are monitored mainly through two methods: on-board diagnostics (OBD) and tailpipe testing. OBD testing relies on the vehicle’s computer system to track emission levels and detect engine issues, while tailpipe testing measures pollutants directly from the exhaust. Both methods aim to ensure vehicles meet environmental standards, but their effectiveness depends on rigorous implementation.

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In India, routine PUC (Pollution Under Control) tests currently rely solely on idle tailpipe checks, measuring emissions when the engine is at rest rather than during normal driving, under load. This makes it easy for vehicles that emit heavily on the road to pass the test, masking the true scale of urban air pollution. Experts argue that closing this loophole would require more realistic testing methods, like on-road or dynamometer checks, to capture true emission levels.

Moreover, much of the hidden pollution on the roads comes from carbureted vehicles, especially two-wheelers and three-wheelers. To clear the mandatory emission checks, many resort to temporary adjustments in the engine.

The trick usually involves two steps: delaying the ignition spark so that the fuel burns a little later and making the air–fuel mixture “lean,” meaning more air and less fuel. These tweaks reduce the levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbons (HC) — the two main pollutants checked during standard idle tests. On paper, the vehicle appears far cleaner than it actually is.

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However, this adjustment comes at a cost. While carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons levels drop, emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), another harmful pollutant, rise sharply, and the engine also loses power. Once the test is completed, the engine is reset to its original settings, allowing the vehicle to continue polluting heavily on the road.

The loophole lies in the testing system itself. Standard idle tests do not measure NOx emissions or replicate real driving conditions, which makes it easy for such manipulation to go undetected. This method, often described as the “late and lean” trick, continues to be a challenge not only in India but across the world. In fact, the difference between CO₂ emissions in test approvals and actual conditions has been growing, rising from 8% in 2001 to 38% in 2014, as reported by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT).

A separate but related avenue of fraud involves the misuse of the “tailpipe” during emission testing. While in some centres, staff insert the probe into the silencer of a well-maintained vehicle and photograph it as proof of testing, in other cases, emission values are digitally edited to show lower readings. Much of this fraud depends on equipment that is either fake or deliberately tampered with. Testing centres use everything from wrongly calibrated tools to manipulated software and defeat devices, all of which help generate false emission readings and issue fake certificates.

In fact, cases from Indian cities like Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru reveal the vast spread of the malpractice, with centres accused of preparing certificates in advance using Word templates, pretending to test by merely attaching nozzle pipes, or even striking deals to replace faulty readings with those from cleaner vehicles.

Other forms of manipulation have also been documented globally:

           Type of fraud     Equipment involved                Purpose
Defeat deviceEngine software or hardwareLow-grade smoke testers
Fake testing toolsTampered analyzer or meterShows false emission data.
Gas dilutersAir mixing devicesLower pollutant concentration readings.
Sensor tamperingOxygen or NOx sensorsReports cleaner emissions to systems.
ECU modificationsBypass chips or softwareDisable or mask emission controls.
Test bed tricksDynamometer manipulationChange vehicle behaviour during the test.
Fake opacity metersLow grade smoke testersChange vehicle behaviour during test.
When Carmakers Cheat

Volkswagen: In 2015, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) served Volkswagen Group with a notice of violation for using software that turned on emissions controls solely during emissions tests. As a result, Nitrogen Oxide emissions were significantly higher during actual driving situations. Volkswagen consented to pay $4.3 billion in fines and to recall the vehicles impacted.

Mercedes and Daimler: In 2018, U.S. regulators discovered software designed to help vehicles pass emissions tests. Daimler was fined 870 million euros in Germany for “negligent violation of supervisory duties.”

Conclusion

Such fraudulent activities not only harm the environment by increasing the emission of harmful pollutants but also erode public confidence in both automotive and regulatory bodies. Fraud in emissions testing creates an unbalanced competitive environment, putting those companies that comply with regulations at a disadvantage.

To address this problem, there needs to be more rigorous oversight, clearer testing processes, and more severe penalties. Maintaining the credibility of emissions testing is crucial for sustainable growth, clean air, and a just automotive sector.

Tula Shiva Kumar is a TRIP intern

Mentored and Edited by Sneha Yadav

References

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