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Hammond unveils lorry charging plans

[ October 24, 2012   //   Chris ]

Transport Under Secretary Stephen Hammond unveiled some details of the Government’s planned truck road charging scheme on 22 October. Intended to level the playing field between UK-based and foreign hauliers, he said it would remove the inequality of British trucks paying to use many roads abroad, but there being no such levy on foreign hauliers.

Both foreign and UK-registered HGVs of 12 tonnes and over will pay the levy – the latter for either six-monthly or annually – but for British operators it will be offset by offsetting reductions in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) payments. Changes to VED will be included in the 2014 Finance Bill.

The levy will be time based and will vary according to the vehicle type, weight and number of axles. It will be a maximum of £1,000 per year or £10 per day for the largest vehicles.

Foreign-registered vehicles will be able to pay the levy either daily, weekly, monthly or annually.

The Freight Transport Association broadly welcomed the plan. Managing director of policy and communications James Hookham, said concerns that extra costs and burdens would not be allowed to fall on UK operators appeared to have been addressed. However, the precise reductions in VED will not be known until the Budget Statement in 2014 where they will be included as part of the Finance Bill.

However, FTA will be investigating further how charging will work in Northern Ireland across the land border with the Republic of Ireland and, while detailed arrangements have been announced for draw-bar combinations, FTA would work with members to understand the practicality of these arrangements

Tags: Freight Transport Association, Vehicle Excise Duty