TAX: IT'S UNANIMOUS
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CONTINENTAL road haulage associations all criticize what they say is "excessive road tax" in the UK, according to an IRU survey which indicates that only Greece and Turkey have systems as prohibitive as Britain's.
Sore points: unnecessarily cumbersome procedure for obtaining refunds of UK tax for periods of less than four months; and the fact that an initial payment for the full fourmonth period has to be made even though the short-term carriers' licence is for only three months.
The survey, designed to collect data on road-tax and frontier-formality difficulties, also records severe censure of the West German never-on-a-Sunday (and-public holiday) h.g.v. traffic rule. French and Portuguese frontier officers are slated for needless red tape.
Meanwhile the Road Haulage Association's International Group wants all TIR users to note that Customs officers at roll-on/roll-off ports are all complaining about:— • Failure to indicate that an imported vehicle is under TIR carnet.
• Unsatisfactory export documentation (like unsigned carnet manifests).
• Last-minute receipt of carnet by agents necessitating urgent action before sailing.
• Use of damaged or inadequately repaired vehicles.
• Incorrectly fitted TIR plates.
• Failure to collect discharged carnets from Customs.