'P awl Teolifig 'Rego
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1. In dealing with a query in Questions and Answers (CM March 11), you expressed the view that a vehicle licensed at the private rate of vehicle excise duty does not come under the Plating and Testing Regulations. This is not necessarily so.
The position is that, if a vehicle is constructionally a goods vehicle over 1,525kg unladen weight, and unless it is specifically exempted in the Plating and Testing Regulations, it does need to be plated and tested regardless of its classification for vehicle excise purposes. I should be grateful if you could make this clear to your readers.
2. As you rightly say it is possible that your correspondent's vehicle, a mobile classroom, would be exempted from the Plating and Testing Regulations by virtue of the second schedule to the Regulations. It seems that your correspondent had sought our advice about the vehicle excise licensing of his vehicle and it is alleged that we advised that the private rate applied. This was presumably because we were satisfied, on the evidence, that the vehicle was not being used for trade or business purposes.
We can certainly say that if a mobile classroom was used by a local education authority, or a firm, for example, the goods rate of duty would be chargeable. P. J. WOODFORD, Head of Information Branch, Department of Transport. Swansea.