Car Tax Changes

[kabre]

Hiya all,

I've been lurking on this site for a few months now after buying my own early bay (pics, etc will follow). However, I think that I have just realised something that I don't think I've heard mentioned by anyone on this site before, that I think might apply to quite a few of us regarding the impending changes to the car tax rules. I am sincerely hoping that I am missing the point here and that someone will be able to point out that I am being a bit of a Muppet, but here goes:

After april 2010 cars first registered in the UK after March 2001 will be taxed based on their emissions!

At first glance: not a problem; my Westy was built in October 1967. However, it spent most of it's life in sunny California and was only imported into the UK in 2004. It was FIRST REGISTERED IN THE UK in 2004! According to the new rules (which are based on first registration in the UK) it should be subject to road tax based on it's emissions as opposed to it being free to tax because it is a pre-1972 vehicle. See http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/BuyingAndSellingAVehicle/ImportingAndExportingAVehicle/DG_4022583" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Now although it is a relatively small engine (1600 TP - soon to be upgraded to 1776), I would bet that the emissions are pretty rubbish compared to most cars built within the last 10 years!

Am I being overly paranoid here or could this really be a problem for those of us that have a van that was imported within the last eight years?

Regards,
Karl

 

[lard]

A good point and one that I don't know the answer to - may be worth a call to the DVLA though my experience has been patchy when calling about historic vehicle registration,

Though from my (limited) understanding - the emissions tax is based on PLG class vehicles registered, as yours is in the Historic Vehicle class and this is based on the year of manufacture not registeration does this exempt it from that rule or is it PLG & Historic Class that the rule applies to? I'm off to google it!

 

[lard]

A good point and one that I don't know the answer to - may be worth a call to the DVLA though my experience has been patchy when calling about historic vehicle registration,

Though from my (limited) understanding - the emissions tax is based on PLG class vehicles registered, as yours is in the Historic Vehicle class and this is based on the year of manufacture not registeration does this exempt it from that rule or is it PLG & Historic Class that the rule applies to? I'm off to google it!

EDIT:

O.K - digital britain hasn't reached the DVLA yet - the references all say that vehicles in the historic vehicle tax class are exempt from paying VED - so to me that says they can change the emissions e.t.c. but it doesn't matter as your tax class is exempt,

One point from DVLA:

Cars registered on or after 1 March 2001 (based on fuel type and CO2 emissions)
The rates shown only apply to cars that have been type approved in category M1 and registered on the basis of CO2 emissions measured in grams per kilometre (g/km) driven. These details are shown on the Registration Certificate.

Betting that you don't even have CO2 on your V5? That's what emissions are based on, not on individual testing - if they haven't got yours on the list (as happened to a friends Alpina B10 ) then you pay the flat rate of pre-2001 - or in your case nothing as it's exempt and it's tax class has been changed,

The fact that you have to apply to change tax class even if the car/bus is pre-1973 tells me that it moves into a whole new (and satifiying) category that is outside of VED and subsequent changes - if I had my old car on the road I'd need to apply to change this or pay the flat non CO2 registered emissions rate beforehand

May be worth a call to DVLA to confirm though

 

[scott wilson]

scary..but true. i think the 2001 cut off date is for new vehicles

 

[kabre]

Really hoping that you are right; I started thinking about this after reading this week's Auto Express. There was an article in there about a chap that bought a car that was registered in Jersey in 2000 then imported into the UK in December 2001. He said that the DVLA were charging him based on the import date not the Jersey registration date - which then made me think that my van was really just an extension of that principal.

Totally agree that it would be pretty difficult for the DVLA to work out the CO2 figure for all the different engines that now exist in all of our vans!

Fingers crossed!

 

[noddy]

I dont see how it can be based on emissions for classic. If it is, most of the vans, if not all imported after 2001 will fail emissions tests.

My understanding of UK law is, laws can not be implemented retrospectively.

 

[kabre]

Noddy - again, I am hoping you are right. However, people that bought cars in 2001 didn't realise that the tax on them would be based on emissions when they bought them, that wasn't announce until a few years ago - so it was retrospective for all of those people that had bought cars between 2001 and then!

 

[noddy]

Emissions regulation came in during the later 1971 I think.

Read this it may shed some light on the regulation.

http://www.roadtransport.com/Articles/2006/11/26/124711/the-euro-exhaust-emissions-regulations.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just read this

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/OwningAVehicle/HowToTaxYourVehicle/DG_10012524" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Type approval for the VW van would have been 1967/8 and you will only be taxed on emissions if your vehicle was registered will an emission on the V5.

 

[froggy]

The changes refer to all NEW CARS registered after 2001 :msn4:
And IIRC all 4x4 after 2008 will be taxed at the new band G, which i think is where the £400 a year tax comes in.

 

[ray]

does the van have a tax exempt disc in it if it does the the dvla already know it is a historic vehicle and it will be taxed as one which is free if its not then you need to get it sorted with them or they will tax you as a newer vehicle on the year it was first registered

 

[kabre]

Froggy - the changes don't refer just to NEW cars, they refer to cars that are FIRST REGISTERED IN THE UK after 2001. Hence why Auto Express magazine had an article about a chap that imported a 2000 vehicle from Jersey but was going to have to pay emissions based road tax since it wasn't registered in the UK until late 2001.

My van is already being taxed as a historic vehicle, and the log book explicitly says so and doesn't contain any sort of information about CO2 emissions, so I am now very hopeful that I will be able to continue to tax it as such.

Many thanks for all your replies and sensible thinking on this matter; I just got a bit spooked by the way that the small print in these new rules creates potential loop-holes for the government to make me pay even more tax!

 

[Guest]

Hopefully the pre 73 law will cancel out this new registration/emissions law, and if you stay early, you will be safe if importing a bus that needs new registration.

I can see the implications for traders and its very worrying .

 

[dave]

Looked at dvla website and my take on it is as emissions are listed as 0 then the fee payable is £0, as said before my v5 shows 0 and i did a veichle enquiy and it came up as 0 on dvla site, followed link to see "NEW RATE PAYABLE" and again it came up as 0, lets hope this is correct and they do not use this as a way of stealing more of our hard earned!

i hope no bright spark from the dvla reads this thread, we may have just given them an idea!