REGISTRATION
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II The trucks M1 supplies are first registered in the country of origin, then brought into Britain to be re-registered here, Clarke explains.
He stresses that this is purely a paperwork exercise. The vehicles have not been used by anybody else.
For re-registration to occur, M1 has to apply to the British subsidiary of the manufacturer concerned for a letter of European conformity.
Armed with this letter, Ml can obtain a UK Type Approval document from the Vehicle Certification Agency in Bristol, and the truck can be registered in Britain.
The vehicles already have European Type Approval.
Truck makers are obliged to provide the letter, but are often slow to do so, Clarke contends.
"Only Volvo work to a predictable timetable," he says. With the rest of them, you might wait a week, or you might wait a month."
Manufacturers are entitled to charge for conformity letters, although not all of them do, Clarke says. Volvo charges £75, and it arrives within three days, he states.
In Clarke's view the requirement for separate UK Type Approval when European Type Approval has already been granted is a scandal.
"It reminds me of the times when we used to have to take bolts out of a fifth wheel coupling to alter the plated weight," he fumes. "It's ridiculous."
So why doesn't he import trucks that have never been registered before? Because they would have to be subjected to the full UK Type Approval process, he replies, and that can cost as much as £1,000 a chassis.