Haulier jailed for out-of-date VED
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• A haulier with no criminal record was jailed for 45 days for failing to pay VED on a truck that usually operates on the Continent.
Ernie Hogg, who is the owner of Carnoustie-based Frigo Freight, says he was stunned by the sentence: he served seven days in Perth prison.
Hogg was caught at Dover without an out-of-date tax disc. He was bringing his Scania tractor, usually based in the Netherlands, back to Scotland before applying for a new one. UK trucks do not have to pay British excise duty if run solely on the Continent.
The incident happened 16 months ago, but Hogg, who runs four vehicles, did not appear in court until 1 June, where he pleaded guilty to the charge and was ordered to pay £1,400 back duty. "I accepted the penalty and offered to pay £500 and the rest in instalments. [said I could not afford it in one go," says Hogg. 'But the judge told me that as a businessman, I should be able to pay.
"I was handcuffed and led away to jail," he adds.
Hogg was released after paying £1,200 in back duty. He has received messages of support from local hauliers and his MP, and believes he was made an example of to scare other operators into paying VED.
He admits he broke the law, but says he has never been in trouble before in the five years he has been running his haulage business.
The last thing I suspected was that I'd be jailed. It was the most humiliating experience of my life," he says.