No Need To Label Each Car Part

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30426, 28 April 1964, Page 3

No Need To Label Each Car Part

(NZ. Press Association) WELLINGTON, April 27. Car wrecking firms need not enter each part of a car in a register and label them, as had been suggested was required under last year’s Second-hand Dealers’ Act, the Minister of Justice (Mr Hanan) said tonight.

He was commenting on published reports of concern of some car wreckers over the act.

The broad object of the act was to prevent thefts, catch thieves and receivers, and to assist in the location and re-

covery of stolen property, said Mr Hanan.

This was achieved by requiring dealers in secondhand articles to be licensed and to keep a record of purchases.

However, it was realised that in respect of some articles other acts required the fact of their purchase to be recorded and accordingly those articles were excluded from the Second-hand Dealers’ Act.

This exemption applied to motor-vehicle dealers in respect of transactions in the course of that business, said the Minister.

Wreckers were deliberately brought within the act so that the necessary records would be available to the police and it was evident from the reported remarks that no-one objected to this. It was true that the act re-

quired a dealer to keep a register in which was entered particulars sufficient to identify each second-hand article acquired or disposed of by a dealer, the date of the transaction and in the case of every second-hand article acquired, the name, residence and occupation of the person from whom it was acquired. He thought, however, that the purchase of a> motorvehicle which was a single article would mean a single entry in the register and not as the reports suggested a further entry as each part was removed from thq frame

Nor, he believed did each part need to be tagged when removed. The obligation to affix a number was present only so long as the article bought remained substantially in its original condition. As each second-hand article was sold, said Mr Hanan, a

further entry must be made in the register. This provision could be too restrictive and burdensome, although, according to reports, it was already being done in the normal course of the dealer’s business for accounting purposes. ft should be possible to make the one entry serve both for the purposes of accounting and as the register, be said. However, if after further experience this was found to be impracticable, he would be happy to consider further representations on the point. Contrary to the views expressed, complete cars did not have to be retained for one month, said Mr Hanan. The particular section, so far as it applied to cars at all, applied only to tools, parts and accessories ac-1 quired as such. i