Heavy fines for under taxing vehicles
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• A series of offences, including operating vehicles not authorised on its Operators Licence and paying insufficient excise duty. led to Worcestershire partners Timothy and Robin Harthill being ordered to pay fines, costs and backduty totalling 215,05(103 by the Worcester magistrates.
The Harthills of Orchard Cottage, Grafton Flybank, Worcester, each admitted a total of 43 offences. There were 17 offences of failing ot use a tachograph, 11 of using vehicles when the wrong rate of duty had been paid, nine of using vehicles without an 0 Licence, five of using vehicles without a test certificate and one of failing to insert their name and address in a registration document.
Peter Loftus, prosecuting for the West Midland Licensing Authority, said that each of the partners had been driving one vehicle working for Steetley Quarries. One of the vehicles had never been specified on their Operators Licence and neither vehicle had been tested at the relevant time. Both vehicles were taxed at the private light goods rate of £100. An examination of the tachograph charts showed that no distance trace had been recorded, that the mode switch was not working properly so it was impossible to tell what the drivers had been doing, and that the centre-fields of the charts had not been completed.
Both partners declined to say anything before the magistrates decided upon penalty. Each of them was fined a total of 24,285 with £400 costs. Timothy Harthill was ordered to pay back-duty of £2,218.33 and Robin Harthill back-duty of 23,461.70.
It is understood that the partners are to appeal.