1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164 
Toll operators failing to pass on VAT reductions
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Hy Chris Tindall and David Harris ROAD TRANSPORT firms are bracing for a double whammy of toll operators increasing charges which fail to pass on the recent reduction in VAT, Severn River Crossing and Midland Expressway (MEL), owners of the Severn Bridge and M6 toll roads respectively, have increased their charges for lorries from 1 January. But the effect has been compounded by the prices not fully taking into account the recent 2.5% reduction in VAT.
Severn River Crossing will charge HGVs 70p more to cross the bridge next year, taking the cost to £16.60 per vehicle. The company says: "Toll charges have not changed due to the change in the VAT rate. This is because the tolls are set by the Severn Bridges Act and are inclusive of VAT."
Meanwhile, MEL will increase its charge for lorries on the M6 toll road by 40p to £9.40 from 1 January; it says the increase reflects the 2.5% fall in VAT, but the original £9 charge is unaffected.
Weston-super-Mare-based Pe ter Gould of RI Gould Transport says the bridge firm should not only have cut its toll for trucks on December 1, when the VAT cut came into effect, but also revised the higher toll — due in January "The problem is that we can only claim VAT back at 15%, but they are continuing as if the VAT was still 17.5%," he adds.
Barry Proctor, of Stoke-based Barry Proctor Services, says the 40p increase in the M6 toll will not put him off using it: "The M6 is still pretty bad, traffic-wise. It's still worth our while, but they are keeping the 2.5% VAT, so it's not only the toll increase, but also the extra 2.5% as well."
The Road Haulage Association says members are demanding it puts pressure on toll operators to change its policy