Haulier ran untaxed vehicles
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The use of untaxed vehicles and a failure to report convictions has led to tittlers, of Backford, near Chester, being hauled before North Western Traffic Commissioner Beverley Bell.
In June the company was ordered to pay fines and costs of £2142.50 after pleading guilty at Chester Magistrates' Court to using an untaxed vehicle with dangerous parts and failing to have a two-yearly tachograph calibration check.
Vehicle examiner David Collings said that at a public inquiry on 25 January, managing director Ronald Littler had given an assurance that all the company's vehicles were properly taxed at that time and that all the back duty had been paid in full.
Information given suggested that the company had made false declarations that its vehicles had not been used untaxed. In particular, tacho graph records showed that one vehicle had been used without tax between July 1999 and February 2000. The Vehicle Inspectorate had obtained authority to prosecute from the DVLA and seek back-duty of £5,511.67, He agreed with Peter Moss, for the company, that only one untaxed vehicle had failed to come to light before the previous public inquiry Traffic examiner Geoffrey Whitley said that when he interviewed Ronald Littler, he asked him why he had made declarations that six vehicles had not been used on the road untaxed when tachograph charts showed that they had.
Littler said that he had not checked the dates to see whether there was a gap. He had said that his son had made declarations in relation to another three vehicles.
Asked why untaxed vehicles had been used, Littler had said the company could not afford to tax them at the time. He had said that it had never been his intention to avoid paying the back-duty Matters relating to the evasion of vehicle excise duty only came to light following the last public inquiry, said Whitley He had received information from the VRO that the company had paid 14,391.67 in back duty by cheque the previous day.
Adjourning the hearing until October, the TC said that she needed evidence that all the vehicles currently in possession were taxed.
The VI is to obtain copies of the declaration forms in relation to the taxation of the cur rent vehicles and the vehicles that were on the licence in January. Bell also required audited accounts for the year ending March 2000 to be produced within 28 days, confirmation of the date vehicles were removed from the licence following its curtailment in January and confirmation that the cheque paid to the VRO the previous day had been cleared.