THE PANCYPRIAN Association of Car Dealers (PASEA) yesterday urged the public to be careful from where they are buying their cars because many dealers in Cyprus are not subject to any form of check, and are not listed with the Registrar of Companies, the VAT or the Income Tax records.
“We recommend that consumers make their transactions with offices that are members of our Association, are listed with the Registrar of Companies, the VAT and Income Tax records. In this way the risk of fraud is reduced to a minimum,” said Mathaios Ioannou, President of PASEA, at a news conference in Limassol yesterday.
However, consumers are faced with a challenge on how to identify PASEA members, as there is no logo or other form of record to aid consumers in choosing where to do business. “We are presently working on developing a logo and records of members of our association,” Ioannou said.
According to Ioannou, no PASEA member has been involved in any fraud case, and if a member did, they would be reported to the authorities and expelled.
“If any member of the public has any complaint from a member of our association, we ask that they report it, and we as a council will investigate it and take measures if any illegal activity has taken place,” he said.
The association also complained that in the last year more cars have been imported by private persons than by professionals. “We suggest that a limit is imposed on private persons importing cars, that checks are performed at customs on where the car was bought and how a private importer is paying for it,” he added.
The absence of adequate checks presently allows anyone to import cars, even without being registered as a company. “Non-existent companies are importing cars. We have reported this piracy in our profession on numerous occasions.”
PASEA suggested that, to protect consumers and genuine professionals, a set of requirements should be met before anyone can enter the car dealing business. These requirements include: being registered with the Company Registrar, the VAT register, the Income Tax records, have a clean criminal record and have at least three years’ experience in the business.
