Heavy hauliers in VED row
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II Hauliers carrying escorted wide loads in the Cleveland area have been sent demands for extra Vehicle Excise Duty because the Cleveland office of the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency has decided that wide loads should be taxed as heavy loads although the DVLA headquarters in Swansea says this decision is wrong.
Cleveland police have told hauliers that their vehicles are incorrectly taxed after being told to enforce the decision.
The DVLA confirms that vehicles carrying wide loads (even above 4.3m) should be taxed at the normal VED rate if their weight falls inside the Construction & Use 38-tonne limit.
One South Yorkshire haulier says he has been sent a £500 bill by the Cleveland DVLA after carrying a wide load. The office told him it considers any load wider than 4.3m a special category (heavy) load, attracting VED of £5,000 per year— even if the load is well inside the truck's GVW.
John Dyne, secretary of the Heavy Transport Association, stresses that hauliers only have to pay the higher VED tax if they run over the 38-tonne limit. Dyne says the DVLA has confirmed this and is sending a memo to that effect to all regional offices.
Hauliers who have received demands for the higher rate tax after carrying wide loads within the 38-tonne limit should appeal, says Dyne.