The Motor Salvage Operators Regulations 2002 became law on 21 October 2002 and brought into force Part 1 of the Vehicles Crime Act 2001.
The aim of the legislation is to make it harder for criminals to dispose of stolen vehicles through the motor salvage industry and increase their chances of detection if they do.
All motor salvage operators are required to register with the council and to keep comprehensive records of transactions. The police enforce these requirements.
A motor salvage operator is a person who carries on a business which is concerned with:
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Wholly or partly with the recovery for re-use or sale of salvageable parts from motor vehicles and the subsequent sale or other disposal fro scrap of the remainder and the vehicles concerned;
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Wholly or mainly with the purchase of written-off vehicles and their subsequent repair and re-sale;
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Wholly or mainly with the sale or purchase of motor vehicles which are to be subject (whether immediately or on a subsequent re-sale) of any of the activities previously mentioned.