Sam, you seem to have missed the key issue here.
Your friend was defected, because his car is illegally modified - While this sucks, is frustrating, and a massive pain the ass, it cannot be deemed as unfair. With the amount of idiots on the road thesedays, particularly those that choose to drive imports and set a terrible example for those of us that do drive and act responsibly, its hardly surprising that they are cracking down.
Want to avoid this 'unfairness'? Either leave your car stock, or go to lengths to ensure you only modify within the allowed guidelines as set out by the RTA, the EPA and ADR's.
Simple really.