My company has a heavy duty recovery vehicle equipped with
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crane to lift the front of the vehicle being recovered. Could this be classed as a mobile crane for tax purposes?
A Your vehicle cannot be
classed as a mobile crane for the purposes of assessing the annual Excise duty payable.
The Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 governs the amount of duty payable and the classi-. fication of vehicle for this purpose.
Section 16(8) defines a recoVery vehicle as "a vehicle on which there is mounted or which is drawing, or which is carrying as part of its equipment, apparatus designed for raising a disabled vehicle or for drawing a vehicle when so raised. . . ." It may not be used for carrying goods other than the disabled vehicle and it can carry no load other than articles necessary for its operation.
A mobile crane is defined in Schedule 3 paragraph 4 of the Act as " a vehicle designed and constructed as a mobile crane which (a) is used on public roads only either as a crane in connection with work being carried on a site in the immediate vicinity or the purpose of proceeding to or from a place where it is to be used as a crane and (b) when it is so proceeding neither carries nor hauls any load than such as is necessary for its propulsion or equipment."
From the second definition you will see that your vehicle cannot be classified as a mobile crane for tax purposes as it will not be used in connection with work on a site and, in drawing a disabled vehicle, it will not conform with (b) However, it might be that you would be eligible for the issue of a trade licence as laid down in Section 16 of the Act at a rate of duty of £20 a year.