A legal enquiry has been commissioned into access to repair and maintenance information for independent repairers. The decision comes from the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, which is part of the European Commission.

The RMI Independent Garage Association (IGA) along with CECRA, the European organisation which represents 260,000 independent repairers throughout the European Union, were invited, together with FIGEFA who represent the aftermarket through Europe, to give evidence before Gomez-Acebo a firm of lawyers who are conducting the legal enquiry.


Colin Parlett, IGA chairman, gave evidence during the meeting which provided the independent sector the opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the disclosure of technical information and the urgent need to provide diagnostic tool manufacturers with relevant information to enable them to produce multipurpose scan tools.

Stuart James, IGA director commented “We are pleased that the RMI were given the opportunity to voice our thoughts regarding how technical information is accessed by our members and other independent repairers. We have positioned ourselves to ensure we are fully involved in the process so we are able to represent the interests of our members on such an important industry subject.”

The RMI and CECRA have been advised by the European Parliament that the result of this study, which the Vehicle Manufacturers have also been invited to give evidence, will pave the way towards possible further action by the European Union in this field.