Yeah, I find this super weird. Where I live, any vehicle more than 3 years old needs to be inspected annually, and anything older than 10 years needs to be inspected every 6 months - it’s a super basic safety check; are your tires legal, do your brakes work, is your suspension system in spec etc. Pretty much just making sure that vehicle is safe to drive - you get a bit of leeway if the certificate has expired, but if it’s more than a few weeks past you risk getting fined or having your car impounded