Registration and licensing, 3
Page 65
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THE FOLLOWING vehicles are exempt from excise duty by Section 4 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971: fire engines; ambulances; road rollers; vehicles used for the haulage of lifeboats; invalid carriages; tower wagons used solely by a street lighting authority; certain road construction vehicles; local authority watering vehicles, and certain vehicles used under the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973.
The following vehicles are exempt by Section 5 of the Act: (1) vehicles used solely for the purpose of travelling to or from a compulsory test, provided a previous appointment for the test has been made (2) vehicles being used during one of the tests mentioned in (1) above and (3) vehicles which have failed their test being delivered, by previous arrangement, to a place where the defects disclosed by the test are to be remedied.
In this connection "compulsory test" means an examination under Section 43 of the Road Traffic Act 1972, with a view to obtaining a test certificate (the MoT test) or in the case of a goods vehicle under Section 45 or 47 of the Act (a test at a Goods Vehicle Testing Station).
Section 6 of the Excise Act exempts from duty vehicles bought by overseas residents if they intend to take the vehicles abroad.
Section 7 provides miscellaneous exemptions from duty as follows: If an applicant for a vehicle licence satisfies the Secretary of State that the vehicle is to be used on public roads (a) only in passing from land in his occupation to other land in his occupation; and (b) for distances not exceeding in the aggregate six miles in any calender week the vehicle may be exempt from duty. Snowploughs and vehicles used by public or local authorities in connection with civil defence are similarly exempt.
Regulation 26 of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 1971 states that owners of vehicles which are exempt from duty must make annual declarations in the normal way and a licence with the word Nil marked in the space provided for indicating the amount of fee payable will be issued.
The following exemptions from excise duty are provided by other legislation: (a) Regulation 5 of the Motor Vehicles (International Circulation) Order 1971 allows visitors bringing vehicles for a temporary stay in Great Britain to use the vehicles without an excise licence.
(b) Section 89 of the Representation of the Peoples Act 1949 allows vehicles to be used at elections to carry passengers without payment without an excise licence.
(c) The Visiting Forces and International Headquarters (Appli cation of Law) Order 1965 permits vehicles in the service of a visiting force to be used without an excise licence.
Section 26 of the Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 makes it an offence to forge, fraudulently alter or use, or fraudulently lend or allow to be used by any other person any number plate, trade plate, licence or registration document.
An offence against this section is usually committed by displaying a licence on a vehicle which relates to another vehicle — there was the classic case of a vehicle with the label from a beer bottle displayed instead of an excise licence.
The case of Neumann v Evans (1977) RTR 250, explaining the meaning of "fraudulent use" by deciding that a person commits this offence if he uses an excise licence in order to avoid paying for another one.
In this case the defendant had removed the current licence from his car after it had been "written off" in an accident and placed it on a similar vehicle which he had acquired.
A licence belonging to another car which was displayed on a vehicle standing on waste ground was held not to come within this section because the vehicle did not require to be licensed and the word "fraudulently" means "with intent to use one licence in order to avoid having to pay for another one". (Cook v Lan yon (1972)) 496.
In R v Astley (1967) 3 All ER 899, it was also held that "fraudulently" means with the intention of avoiding payment.
The second part of the same section makes it an offence for any person when making an application for a licence to make declaration which, to his knowledge, is false or in any material respect misleading. It is also an offence for a person when required to furnish particulars relating to the keeper of any vehicle, to furnish particu
lars which to his knowledge a false or in any material respe misleading.
Section 27 is concerned wi this duty to give information may be required by or on beh of a chief officer of police or t Secretary of State concernii the identity of the persons cc cerned where it is alleged tha. vehicle is being used or ke without a licence, or an exc( sive number of vehicles are t ing used under a trade licence a vehicle is being used for a pi pose for which a higher rate duty is payable.
It should be noted that tl duty lies not only with "t keeper of the vehicle" but w "any other person". It is a c fence to a charge under this si tion for the defendant to pro to the satisfaction of the co "that he did not know and cot not with reasonable diliger have ascertained the identity the persons concerned".
For the offence of using keeping a vehicle without licence an offender is liable the greater of the following nalties: (a) an excise penalty of £50; (b) an excise penalty equal five times the amount of di chargeable in respect of I vehicle.
In addition the court rr order the defendant to pay 1 amount of back duty owed.
Section 234(2) of the Custa and Excise Act 1952 lays do: that where a licence is grani on receipt of a cheque whictsubsequently dishonoured 1 licence which is issued is vi from the time it is granted.
Proposals have been made amend the law concerning • licensing of goods vehicles that duty is levied on the gri weight and the number of ax instead of the unladen weight at present. The law will be viewed if and when these alte tions come about.
By Les Oldridge, TEng (CEO, N