Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 (Repealed 1.9.1994)

F1 [18A Additional liability in relation to alteration of vehicle or its use. E+W+S

(1) Where a person convicted of an offence under section 18 of this Act is the person by whom the vehicle in respect of which the offence was committed was kept at the time it was committed, the court shall, in addition to any penalty which it may impose under that section, order him to pay an amount (the “additional duty”) calculated in accordance with this section.

(2) The additional duty shall, subject to subsections (7) and (8) below, be an amount equal to one three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth of the appropriate annual rate of duty for each day in the relevant period.

(3) The following Cases are referred to in subsections (5) and (6) below—

CASE A

Where—

(a) at the time of the offence the vehicle in question had a plated weight (the “higher plated weight”) which exceeds the plated weight (the “previous plated weight”) which it had when the current licence was taken out; and

(b) the current licence was taken out at the rate of duty applicable to the previous plated weight.

CASE B

Where—

(a) the vehicle in question is a tractor unit (within the meaning of paragraph 15 of Schedule 4 to this Act);

(b) the current licence was taken out at a rate of duty applicable to the use of the vehicle only with semi-trailers having not less than two axles or, as the case may be, only with semi-trailers having not less than three axles; and

(c) the offence consisted in using the vehicle with a semi-trailer with a smaller number of axles than that mentioned in paragraph (b) above, in circumstances in which it was not treated by virtue of paragraph 14(2) of Schedule 4 to this Act as being licensed in accordance with the requirements of this Act.

CASE C

Where—

(a) the current licence was taken out at the rate of duty applicable, by virtue of paragraph 8 of Schedule 4 to this Act, to a weight lower than the plated weight of the vehicle in question; and

(b) the offence consisted in using the vehicle in contravention of a condition imposed by virtue of paragraph 8(3) of Schedule 4.

CASE D

Where the current licence was taken out at a rate of duty lower than that applicable to the vehicle in question by reference to its plated weight and the circumstances of the case do not bring it within Case A, B or C.

CASE E

Where the current licence was taken out at a rate of duty lower than that at which duty was chargeable in respect of that condition or manner of use of the vehicle which constituted the offence and the circumstances of the case do not bring it within Case A, B, C or D.

(4) In this section “current licence” means the licence in relation to which the offence was committed.

(5) In this section “appropriate annual rate of duty” means the difference between the rate of duty at which the current licence was taken out and—

(a) in Case A, the rate which would have been applicable had the current licence been taken out by reference to the higher plated weight;

(b) in Case B, the rate which would have been applicable had the current licence been taken out by reference to that use of the vehicle which constituted the offence;

(c) in case C, the rate which would have been applicable had the current licence been taken out by reference to the plated weight of the vehicle;

(d) in Case D, the rate which would have been applicable had the current licence been taken out by reference to the plated weight of the vehicle; and

(e) in Case E, the rate which would have been applicable had the current licence been taken out by reference to that condition or use of the vehicle which constituted the offence.

(6) In this section “relevant period” means the period ending with the day on which the offence was committed and beginning

(a) in relation to Case A, with the day on which the vehicle in question was plated with the higher plated weight; and

(b) in relation to each of the other Cases, with the day on which the current licence first took effect.

(7) Where the person convicted proves—

(a) that throughout any day comprised in the relevant period he was not the keeper of the vehicle in question;

[F2 or]

(c) that he had, before his conviction, paid the higher of the two rates of duty referred to in the relevant paragraph of subsection (5) above in respect of the vehicle for any such day, whether or not on a licence; . . . F3

the additional duty shall be calculated as if that day were not comprised in the relevant period.

(8) Where a person is convicted of more than one contravention of section 18 of this Act in respect of the same vehicle (whether or not in the same proceedings) the court shall, in calculating the additional duty payable in respect of any one of those offences, reduce the amount calculated in accordance with the preceding provisions of this section in relation to a particular period by the amount of the additional duty ordered to be paid under this section in relation to that period in respect of the other offence or, as the case may be, offences.

(9) Except so far as it is proved to have fallen within some other description for the whole of any day comprised in the relevant period, the vehicle in question shall be taken for the purposes of this section to have belonged throughout the relevant period to that description of vehicle to which it belonged for the purposes of duty at the date of the offence.

(10) Where, on a person’s conviction of an offence under section 18 of this Act, an order is made under Part I of the Powers of Criminal Courts Act M1 1973 placing him on probation or discharging him absolutely or conditionally, this section shall apply as if the conviction were deemed to be a conviction for all purposes.

(11) This section shall have effect subject to the provisions (applying with the necessary modifications) of any enactment relating to the imposition of fines by magistrates’ courts, other than one conferring a discretion as to their amount; and any sum payable by virtue of an order under this section shall be treated as a fine, and the order as a conviction, for the purposes of Part III of the Magistrates’ Courts Act M2 1980 (including any enactment having effect as if contained in that Part) and of any other enactment relating to the recovery or application of sums ordered to be paid by magistrates’ courts.

(12) In its application to Scotland, this section shall have effect as if for subsections (10) and (11) there were substituted the following subsections)—

“(10) Where a person is convicted on indictment of, or is charged before a court of summary jurisdiction with, an offence under section 18 of this Act, and an order is made under section 182 or 383 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 discharging him absolutely, or under section 183 or 384 of that Act placing him on probation, this section shall apply as if the making of the order were a conviction for all purposes.

(11) Any sum payable by virtue of an order under this section shall be treated as a fine imposed by a court of summary jurisdiction.”

(13) This section is subject to Schedule 7 to this Act.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 18A inserted by Finance Act 1982 (c. 39, SIF 107:2), s. 7(1)

F2 Word substituted for para. (7)(b) by Finance Act 1987 (c. 16, SIF 107:2), s. 2 Sch. 1 Pt. III para. 10(a).

F3 Para. (8)(d) and the word “or” immediately preceding it repealed by Finance Act 1987 (c. 16, SIF 107:2), ss. 2, 72, Sch. 1 Pt. III para. 10(b), Sch. 16 Pt. I Note 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1973 c.62 (39:1).

M2 1980 c.43 (82).