AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESSES – THE ALBERTA LEGISLATION YOU NEED TO KNOW.

The Fair Trading Act, the Automotive Business Regulation and the Automotive Business Amendment Regulation set out strict laws on how vehicles can be sold, advertised, priced and presented to consumers.

For example, the Automotive Business Regulation stipulates that a salesperson must have an AMVIC registration to sell motor vehicles or trailers in the Province of Alberta.  All businesses must ensure that each employee involved in the sale of any vehicle on behalf of their company is properly registered with AMVIC.

One of the many new laws in relation to the Automotive Business Amendment Regulation states that price of the vehicle must be inclusive.  As such, when advertising a vehicle for sale, the total price of the car must include everything except the GST or the cost to obtain credit. 

The Fair Trading Act states that the total price of the goods must be more prominent than the price of only the vehicle or the amount of payments.  For instance, a company cannot advertise in bold lettering a payment of $99 a month but then have smaller print providing the actual cost of the vehicle.  The actual cost of the vehicle must be the prominent feature in the ad.

These are only a few examples of Alberta Legislation relating to the automotive industry. The complete set of rules and laws can be found by highlighting The Fair Trading Act, the Automotive Business Regulation and the newly proclaimed Automotive Business Amendment Regulation.

The Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council will be monitoring vehicle advertising within the Province of Alberta.  While AMVIC will strive to obtain compliance with Alberta legislation through education, our investigators will take enforcement action when necessary to do so.  We invite all business owners and managers to review this web site, and call us with any questions that you may have.

•   The Fair Trading Act 

             http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/documents/acts/F02.CFM

•  Automotive Business Regulation

            http://www.qp.gov.ab.ca/documents/regs/1999_192.cfm 

•   Designation of trades and Businesses regulation