This barrier was broken in October 2003, when the European Commission (EC) passed a law allowing vehicle owners the freedom of having their servicing and repairs done at their chosen workshop.
[4] According to the UK Department of Business Education & Skills, the empowerment created by this law provides competition in the automobile industry as vehicle owners now have the opportunity to repair and service their vehicle at alternative workshops to the automobile manufacturers.
( AIRC General Secretary Karel Bukholczer, see source http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2010_motor_vehicles/airc_en.pdf ) Recently, in May 2010 a new law has passed by the European Commission Competition legislatives and it came into effect from June 1, 2010.
[9] A transition period was provided by the European Commission extends the previous 2002 for three years, till 2013.
During this three years only the sales of new cars are affected by the new BER passed by the EC which came into effect on 1 June 2010.