Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971

Exemptions from duty

4 Exemptions from duty of certain descriptions of vehicle

(1) No duty shall be chargeable under this Act in respect of mechanically propelled vehicles of any of the following descriptions, that is to say—

(a) fire engines;

(b) vehicles kept by a local authority while they are used or kept on a road for the purposes of their fire brigade service ;

(c) ambulances;

(d) road rollers;

(e) vehicles used on tram lines, not being tramcars used for the conveyance of passengers ;

(f) vehicles used or kept on a road for no purpose other than the haulage of lifeboats and the conveyance of the necessary gear of the lifeboats which are being hauled;

(g) vehicles (including cycles with an attachment for propelling them by mechanical power) which do not exceed eight hundredweight in weight unladen and are adapted, and used or kept on a road, for invalids;

(h) road construction vehicles used or kept on a road solely for the conveyance of built-in road construction machinery (with or without articles or material used for the purposes of that machinery);

(i) vehicles constructed or adapted, and used, solely for the conveyance of machinery for spreading material on roads to deal with frost, ice or snow or for the conveyance of such machinery and articles and material used for the purposes of that machinery;

(j) local authority's watering vehicles ;

(k) tower wagons used solely by a street lighting authority, or by any person acting in pursuance of a contract with such an authority, for the purpose of installing or maintaining materials or apparatus for lighting streets, roads or public places.

(2) In this section—

• " road construction vehicle " means a vehicle constructed or adapted for use for the conveyance of built-in road construction machinery and not constructed or adapted for the conveyance of any other load except articles and material used for the purposes of that machinery;

• " road construction machinery " means a machine or contrivance suitable for use for the construction or repair of roads and used for no purpose other than the construction or repair of roads at the public expense;

• " built-in road construction machinery ", in relation to a vehicle, means road construction machinery built in as part of the vehicle or permanently attached thereto ;

• " local authority's watering vehicle " means a vehicle used solely within the area of a local authority by that local authority, or by any person acting in pursuance of a contract with that local authority, for the purpose of cleansing or watering roads or cleansing gulleys;

• " tower wagon " has the same meaning as in Schedule 4 to this Act;

• " street lighting authority " means any local authority or Minister having power under any enactment to provide or maintain materials or apparatus for lighting streets, roads or public places.

5 Exemptions from duty in connection with vehicle testing, etc.

(1) A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of its use on public roads—

(a) solely for the purpose of submitting it by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date for, or bringing it away from, a compulsory test; or

(b) in the course of a compulsory test, solely for the purpose of taking it to, or bringing it away from, any place where a part of the test is to be or, as the case may be, has been carried out, or of carrying out any part of the test, the person so using it being an authorised person; or

(c) where the relevant certificate is refused on a compulsory test, solely for the purpose of delivering it by previous arrangement for a specified time on a specified date at a place where work is to be done on it to remedy the defects on the ground of which the certificate was refused, or bringing it away from a place where work has been done on it to remedy such defects.

(2) In paragraph (c) above the reference to work done or to be done on the vehicle to remedy the defects there mentioned is, in a case where the relevant certificate which is refused is a test certificate, a reference to work done or to be done to remedy those defects for a further compulsory test and includes, in a case where the relevant certificate which is refused is a goods vehicle test certificate, type approval certificate or Minister's approval certificate, a reference to work done or to be done to alter the vehicle in some aspect of design, construction, equipment or marking on account of which the certificate was refused.

(3) In this section—

• " compulsory test " means an examination under section 65 of the [1960 c. 16.] Road Traffic Act 1960 with a view to obtaining a test certificate without which a vehicle licence cannot be granted for the vehicle under this Act or, in the case of a goods vehicle for which by virtue of section 14(9) of the [1967 c. 30.] Road Safety Act 1967 a vehicle licence cannot be so granted, an examination under regulations under section 9 or for the purposes of section 10 of that Act (examinations as to a goods vehicle's compliance with construction and use or type approval requirements respectively) or an examination under regulations under section 13(1) (a) of that Act (in connection with alterations to goods vehicles subject to type approval requirements) or for the purposes of section 12 of that Act (appeals);

• " the relevant certificate " means a test certificate as defined in subsection (2) of the said section 65, a goods vehicle test certificate as defined in the said section 9, a type approval certificate or a Minister's approval certificate as defined in the said section 10;

• " authorised person " in the case of a compulsory test under the said section 65 means a person authorised as an examiner or appointed as an inspector under that section or acting on behalf of a person so authorised, or a person acting under the personal direction of such a person as aforesaid; and in the case of any other compulsory test means a goods vehicle examiner or a person carrying out the test under his direction or a person driving the vehicle in pursuance of a requirement to do so under regulations under which the compulsory test is carried out;

• " goods vehicle examiner " means an examiner appointed under section 183 of the said Act of 1960 or a certifying officer appointed under Pact III of that Act.

6 Exemptions from duty in respect of vehicles acquired by overseas residents

(1) A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act if purchase tax in respect of the vehicle is remitted under section 23 of the [1963 c. 9.] Purchase Tax Act 1963 (remission of tax on exported vehicles) on the ground that the vehicle has been acquired from its manufacturer by a person who is an overseas resident; but if at any time purchase tax becomes payable in respect of that vehicle under section 9 of the [1967 c. 54.] Finance Act 1967 (purchase tax payable where conditions of remission broken), or would have become so payable but for any authorisation or waiver under subsection (1) of the said section 9, then the provisions of subsection (3) below shall apply in relation to that vehicle.

(2) Where in the case of any mechanically propelled vehicle it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State—

(a) that the vehicle is not chargeable with purchase tax; and

(b) that the vehicle is being acquired from a person who is for the time being registered as a manufacturer of such vehicles by the Secretary of State and who is the manufacturer of the vehicle for the purposes of that register; and

(c) that the person so acquiring the vehicle would fall to be treated as an overseas resident for the purposes of the said section 23,

the Secretary of State may exempt the vehicle from duty under this Act for a period of twelve months subject to specified conditions, being such conditions as the Secretary of State may from time to time think necessary for the protection of the revenue; but if at any time during those twelve months any of the conditions subject to which the exemption is granted is not complied with, the provisions of subsection (3) below shall apply in relation to the vehicle.

(3) Where under subsection (1) or (2) above the provisions of this subsection are to apply in relation to a vehicle, the vehicle shall be deemed never to have been exempted from duty under the said subsection (1) or (2) and, without prejudice to the provisions of section 9 of this Act, unless, or except to the extent that, the Secretary of State sees fit to waive payment of the whole or part of the duty, there shall be recoverable by the Secretary of State as a debt due to him—

(a) from the person by whom the vehicle was acquired from its manufacturer, the duty in respect of the whole period since the registration of the vehicle; or

(b) from any other person who is for the time being the keeper of the vehicle, the duty in respect of the period since the vehicle was first kept by that other person,

other than any part of that period by reference to which there was calculated an amount ordered to be paid by the person in question in respect of the vehicle in pursuance of section 9(1) of this Act.

7 Miscellaneous exemptions from duty

(1) If an applicant for a vehicle licence satisfies the Secretary of State that the vehicle is intended to be used on public roads—

(a) only in passing from land in his occupation to other land in his occupation, and

(b) for distances not exceeding in the aggregate six miles in any calendar week,

then, with the consent of the Treasury, the Secretary of State may exempt the vehicle from the duty chargeable under this Act in respect of the use of the vehicle on roads ; but if a vehicle so exempted is used on public roads otherwise than for the purpose or to the extent specified above, the vehicle shall cease to be exempted.

(2) A mechanically propelled vehicle fitted with controls enabling it to be driven by persons having a particular disability, and registered in the name of such a person under this Act, shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of its use by or for the purposes of that person, or by reason of its being kept for such use, where—

(a) he caused the controls to be fitted to the vehicle and obtained in respect of the cost thereby incurred a grant paid by the Secretary of State out of moneys provided by Parliament; or

(b) whether or not he caused the controls to be fitted to the vehicle, his disability is of a kind in the case of which grants in respect of the fitting of such controls are so paid.

(3) A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of its use for clearing snow from public roads by means of a snow plough or similar contrivance, whether forming part of the vehicle or not, or by reason of its being kept for such use or by reason of its use for the purpose of going to or from the place where it is to be used for clearing snow from public roads by those means.

(4) Regulations under this Act may provide that, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, a mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of any use made of it for the purpose of a public or local authority's functions in connection with civil defence as defined in the [1948 c. 5 (12, 13 & 14 Geo. 6.)..] Civil Defence Act 1948, or by reason of its being kept on a road for any such use, or both.

(5) Regulations under this Act may provide for the total or partial exemption for a limited period from the duty chargeable under this Act of any mechanically propelled vehicles for the time being licensed under section 1 or 10 of the [1954 c. 17 (N.I.)..] Vehicles (Excise) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954; and, without prejudice to section 37(1) of this Act, regulations made under this subsection may—

(a) make different provision in relation to vehicles of different descriptions;

(b) provide that any exemption conferred by the regulations in respect of any vehicle shall have effect subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.