Licensing Problems Elucidated
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The Sixth Article of the Series in which We Answer Typical Questions on Different Subjects Resulting from the Passing of the Road and Rail Traffic Act
ASTEADY flow of inquiries, many of them raising intricate problems, concerning the licensing provisions of the Road and Rail Traffic Act continues to reach us, and below we print a further selection of questions and answers.
A Case of More Tonnage Being Wanted.
(28) QUESTION: We are at present operating a daffy parcel and goods delivery service over a certain route and putting two other vans on the road shortly, which will run daily over two other routes at present badly served. What class of licence should we require and when need we apply for it?
ANSWER: You will require to take out a Class A licence if you do not carry your own goods at any time, but if, as merchants, you also carry goods in connection with your own business, a Class B licence will be required.
If your vehicles were operated during the basic year (April 1, 1932, to March 31, 1933) you will be able to make application for " claimed " tonnage to the extent of their full unladen weight ; but in the case of any other vans put into service since that time, or in the future, you will have to apply for " discretionary " tonnage, in which case you will probably be called upon to• show the need for the service, and, possibly, to fight opposition from other transport interests.
" Claimed " tonnage must be applied for before April 1, and no goods vehicle will be allowed to operate without a carrier's licence after July 1,
Changing the Character of a Company.
. (29) QUESTION: How will the new legislation scheme affect my business, which is run as a partnership, if it be changed from a private company to a limited company? Could the licensing authority say that the limited company was not in business before March, 1933, and, consequently, refuse to grant the licences for vehicles employed by the private company before that date?
ANSWER : The legal position is that a limited company is a different legal entity from the shareholders. Consequently, if You turn your business into a limited company it appears that you will not strictly be entitled to make application in respect of the claimed tonnage which you owned and used during the twelve months ended March 31, 1933, even if all the shares in the company be owned by you.
This is a point which is not dealt with in the Road and Rail Traffic Act. In order to be on the safe side it appears that you should postpone the formation of the company, for the time being. When a limited company is formed for the purpose of taking over the business of a partnership the usual practice is for the partners to assign their partnership assets to the company in consideration of the issue of shares or the payment of cash, but the Act expressly states that a licence shall not be transferable. Provisions are made to meet the case of the death of the holder of a licence, his bankruptcy,
B36 the liquidation of a company which holds a licence, or the appointment of a receiver or manager, but no provision is made for a case, suCh as yours, where a company acquires the assets of a partnership. The point is one upon which we hope the Minister of Transport will issue some statement.
If your vehicles be used only for the conveyance of goods in connection with your business, and not for the conveyance of the goods of other persons, the views expressed above would not apply, as anyone who uses a motor vehicle for the conveyance of goods in connection with his own business, not being the business of a haulier, will be entitled to be granted a C licence whether or not he used vehicles of the same or less weight unladen during the twelve months prior to March 31, 1933. In such a case there would be no objection to the company taking over the assets of the partnership. We would also point ouf that the new Act does not apply to public service vehicles, or private hire cars.
A Combined Joinery, Painting and Undertaking Business.
(30) QUESTION: I am in a joinery, painting and undertaking business, using a. Ford van and paying £15 per year tax. Sometimes I carry one or two men with their tools and small parcels of woodwork to and from jobs, also coffins and, occasionally, a body in a coffin where it is my business to supply the coffin and c6nvey the deceased for interment to a nearby village. What licence shall I require, as I do not carry goods for others? I also employ a 30-cwt, lorry, and presume that this will require the 'same type of licence. What will be the duty on each vehicle? A friend of mine, a grocer, uses an Austin 12-6 van both for carrying his own goods and for private purposes, paying £15 tax. Will he be able to continue this under the new legislation?
ANSWER: As you will be using your Ford van and your lorry only in connection with your business of joinery, undertaking and painting you will require a Class C licence. Such a licence will be in force for three years, and will cost 7s. 6d. per vehicle if the Regulations be made in the form in which they have been drafted. The fact that you occasionally carry a body in a coffin will not affect the position, as the use of a vehicle for the purposes of a funeral does not bring the vehicle within the provisions of the Road and Rail Traffic Act.
The licence duty under the Finance Act, 1933, for a petrol-driven vehicle the weight unladen of which exceeds 12 cwt. but does not exceed 1 ton will still be £15 per annum. In the case of a vehicle the weight unladen of which exceeds 1 ton but does not exceed 1i ton the duty will be E20, whilst if the weight unladen exceeds 1i ton but does not exceed 2 tons the duty will be £25.
• There is nothing under the Road and Rail Traffic Act to prevent a vehicle being used for jirivate purposes as well as for the carriage of goods so long as the proper Road Fund licence duty has been paid. The licence duty for a 12-6 Austin van will continue to be £15, whether it be for goods or for pleasure purposes.
The Haulage of Sugar Beet.
(31) QUESTION: I have carried out the haulage of sugar beet for nine years, this being the only haulage undertaken ; sometimes I use one, sometimes two lorries. What licence shall I require and when shall I apply?
ANSWER: If you use your vehicle solely for hauling other persons' goods, including sugar beet, you will require a Class A licence, but if you use it in connection with any business or trade which you carry on—other Than that of a haulier—and for the purpose of hauling other persons' goods you will require a Class B licence.
The licensing authority is the person who is the chairman of the Traffic Commissioners for the Traffic Area under the Road Traffic Act within which you operate your vehicle, and you should make application for a licence so soon as the forms are available. If you apply before April 1, 1934, or before such later date as is fixed by the Minister of Transport, which will probably be July 1, 1934, you will be entitled to have granted to you an A licence or a B licence for vehicles of the same total weight unladen as you owned and used during the twelve months ended on March 31, 1933. An A licence will be granted for two years, but a B licence will be granted for only one year.
If you continue to watch the pages of The Commercial Motor you will find further information with regard to application for licences which will be published from time to time. The questions which are deal with in this paper are, as it were, key questions.
Insuring to Cover Excess Loads.
(32) QUESTION: I am in business as a coal merchant and haulier. Up to October of the past year I had one 30-cwt. lorry, but in November registered another of similar weight. Would it be possible for me to obtain a Class A licence for the older vehicle and a Class B licence for the other? What is the maximum weight that can be carried on a 30-cwt vehicle, and, in the event of it being 30 cwt., would it be possible for me legally to carry 2 tons by paying a Road Fund duty on the vehicle as a 2-thriller, also could I insure it for the increased carrying weight?
ANSWER: You may certainly apply for a Class A licence for one vehicle and a Class B for the other, providing that the first is used only in general haulage and not for the purpose of transporting any of your own goods.
You will be able to apply only for " claimed " tonnage • in respect of your first 30-cwt.; the second, bought in November, will have to be applied for as " discretionary " tonnage.
So far as taxation is concerned, this is based purely upon unladen weight, not upon the load carried. If you carry an overload of half a ton on your 30-cwt. vehicle, it would be advisable to ensure that you are covered by insurance for this extra weight. The only restriction at present concerning the overloading of the lighter class of vehicle is the regulation which lays down that it must not be loaded dangerously.