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The Government has published its response to the consultation on the proposed electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED) scheme, confirming a number of changes following feedback from the BVRLA and the wider fleet sector.
Throughout the consultation, the BVRLA worked closely with members, industry stakeholders and Government officials, including holding a series of rental and leasing member roundtables and giving evidence to the Transport Select Committee. During this engagement, the association estimated that the original proposals would have created around £260 million a year in compliance costs for the fleet sector because of the administrative burden involved.
The Government has now confirmed a number of revisions to the scheme, including:
- allowing the use of estimated mileage readings for their vehicles rather than fleets being required to share actual odometer readings.
- ability for fleets to licence their vehicles and pay in bulk
- developing digital routes, including an API and web interface, to support efficient fleet administration.
- removal of additional mileage checks for newer vehicles without MOTs. Treasury will not proceed with the proposed requirement for vehicles under three years old (four years in Northern Ireland) to undergo mileage checks, instead relying on motorists' mileage estimates reconciled against verified mileage at the vehicle's first MOT
Toby Poston, BVRLA Chief Executive, said; “When it comes to the Wrong Tax at the Wrong Time, eVED, the fleet sector has spoken loud and clear. This poorly designed and scheduled tax would pile extra cost and bureaucracy onto fleets and drivers and eviscerate EV demand just as the Government's sales targets start ratcheting-up.
“It is great that the government has taken some of the roughest edges off its eVED plans. They've accepted that a tax designed around private motorists won't work for the fleets that are driving the UK's transition to electric vehicles.
“But there is no avoiding the fact that you can't create a smooth switch to electric vehicles by making them more expensive to own. The mechanics of the tax may have improved, but the timing is still wrong.”
The association thanks all member representatives, industry stakeholders and government officials for the level of support and engagement seen during this consultation period.
The BVRLA will continue to engage with Government as the scheme is developed and will keep members informed of further updates, as well as opportunities to support those efforts.
Read an overview from BVRLA Chief Executive, Toby Poston
