Local businesses are being alerted to the impact of new laws which came into force on 28 December 2009.

The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 implement an EU Directive aimed at facilitating cross-border services within the EU. Ruth James, commercial law solicitor at Lanyon Bowdler, said: "The Regulations should benefit businesses who want to enter the EU market, but local businesses should be aware that they contain a number of obligations which apply directly to businesses supplying services in the EU, including the requirement to provide various pre-contractual information to customers."

Although there are a number of exceptions, the Regulations will apply to the majority of service sectors, including those who provide services to businesses and/or consumers. Ruth James advises that there are three areas which businesses providing services need to consider, she says: "First, check that you have provided to your customer the required information in writing before concluding the contract or before providing the services. This could be done using standard terms and conditions for the supply of services. The information you need to make available is fairly detailed and includes the name, address, legal status and VAT number of your business and details of the main features of the services.

Second, you need to make sure that you have a complaints handling procedure to fulfil your duty under the Regulations to respond to complaints as quickly as possible and to use your best efforts to find a satisfactory solution to complaints.

Third, check that nothing in the way you operate your business discriminates on the grounds of nationality or place of residence, unless it can be justified by objective criteria.  For example you must not offer less favourable terms to customers based in Birmingham to those based in Shropshire, unless it can be objectively justified."

Businesses which do not comply with the Regulations could find themselves faced with a court action from the Office of Fair Trading or from businesses and individual consumers affected by that service provider's non-compliance.