The stringent ban on all kinds of dark film for car windows has manufacturers and distributors of the film in the city complaining of losses amounting to Rs 1,500 crore. In Bengaluru city alone, there are over 1,000 automobile accessory dealers. “Since the enforcement of the rule came quite suddenly, we have been taken by surprise. We have stock worth Rs 2.5 crore that will all go waste as even the distributors have refused to take it back,” said Mr Narayan T. Nagpal, a prominent car accessories dealer in the city.
The dealers and manufacturers of the film allege that the ban will benefit two prominent glass manufacturers, AIS and Saint-Gobain. “The order says that the car manufacturers can have the tint installed before selling it to customers. And in India, it is either AIS or Saint Gobain who already have direct tie-ups with the manufacturers. This will only further their monopoly in the market,” said Mr Vipin S., another dealer. Even removing the tinted film from car windows is proving difficult. “There has been a sudden increase in the number of people lining up for removal. But that takes about two to three hours depending on the car.
The number of vehicles is more and we don’t have enough people,” says Mr Vipin. Those who install the films too find business down. “I have been doing this for over eight years, but in the last four days, I haven’t had a single new installation. We get paid based on the number of installations. For the next four months, we may have business through removal of the screens. Things are still too uncertain,” said Mohammad Yusuf, a screen installer.