(Yicai) Oct. 30 -- The governments of several Chinese cities have punished third-party institutions for falsifying motor vehicle exhaust emissions tests by easing inspection standards, conducting substitute checks, using cheating devices, and tempering with inspection reports.

The Ecology and Environment Bureau of Bengbu in China's eastern Anhui province found that Xiayang Motor Vehicle Inspection had long replaced heavy-duty diesel or gasoline vehicles that may fail on-board diagnostics or emission inspections with undeclared gasoline vehicles, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Bureau of Ecological and Environmental Enforcement told Yicai today.

Sichuan province's ecology and environment and public security departments jointly probed and found that Deyang Hengda Antong Motor Vehicle Inspection Services had used image edition software to change 43 car emission tests that exceeded standards into qualified reports, uploading the edits to the motor vehicle safety technical inspection and supervision system.

Local regulators have revoked the inspection credentials of relevant institutions and imposed administrative penalties, with fines ranging from CNY100,000 to CNY300,000 (USD14,010 to USD42,030).

As the "gatekeepers" of diesel trucks' compliance with emission standards, vehicle emission inspection agencies play an important role in promoting the reduction of mobile source air pollution and continuously improving ambient air quality, according to the ecology and environment ministry.

The government does not tolerate fraud and illegal acts in motor vehicle inspection and will strictly investigate and punish them in accordance with the law, the ministry added. It will regulate the healthy development of the motor vehicle inspection market, help reduce pollution from mobile sources, and improve environmental quality, it noted.

Editor: Martin Kadiev