DUSHANBE, January 25, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Tajik authorities have raised tinted glass permit fees.

According to the Interior Ministry traffic police directorate, the fee has been raised from 2,475 somoni to 2,600 somoni.  The source says the rise in fee has resulted from devaluation of the national currency, the somoni, against the dollar.

All payments for permits for dark tint and fines for breaking the car window tinting standards are directly remitted to the bank account opened to support construction of the Roghun hydroelectric power plant (HPP).

In 2010, 19,057,500 somoni raised from issuing 7,700 tinted glass permits were remitted to the bank account opened to support Roghun’s construction.  “Since the beginning of this year alone, 800 car owners have remitted 2.8 million to this bank account,” the source noted.

It is to be noted that the permit for dark tint is issued only for one year and on the expiry of this period, car owners should apply for the tinted glass permit again.

We will recall that amendments requiring fees for permit for dark tint and penalty fees for unauthorized change of the car window tinting standards came into effect on January 1, 2010.

Under the current regulations, at least 75 per cent of light must pass through the driver’s side windows and vehicles may have tint on the windshield as dark as 25 percent, windows to the immediate left and right of the driver -- 30 percent, and rear windows – 30.  If car owners want to have other tinted glass parameters they have to obtain tinted glass permit.