Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971

8 Using and keeping vehicles without a licence

(1) If any person uses or keeps on a public road any mechanically propelled vehicle for which a licence is not in force, not being a vehicle exempted from duty under this Act by virtue of any enactment (including any provision of this Act), he shall be liable to the greater of the following penalties, namely—

(a) an excise penalty of £50; or

(b) an excise penalty equal to five times the amount of the duty chargeable in respect of the vehicle.

(2) In any proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence to prove that—

(a) while an expired vehicle licence for the vehicle was in force an application was duly made for a further vehicle licence for the vehicle to take effect from or before the expiration of the expired licence and for a period including the time in question ; and

(b) the expired licence was at that time fixed to and exhibited on the vehicle in the manner prescribed in pursuance of section 12(4) of this Act; and

(c) the period between the expiration of the expired licence and that time did not exceed fourteen days.

For the purposes of paragraph (a) above an application for a further licence is made when the application is received by the Secretary of State.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) where a vehicle for which a vehicle licence is in force is transferred by the holder of the licence to another person, the licence shall be treated as no longer in force unless it is delivered to that other person with the vehicle;

(b) the amount of the duty chargeable in respect of a vehicle shall be taken to be an amount equal to the annual rate of duty applicable to the vehicle at the date on which the offence was committed or, where in the case of a vehicle kept on a public road that rate differs from the annual rate by reference to which the vehicle was at that date chargeable under section 1 of this Act in respect of the keeping thereof, equal to the last mentioned rate.

For the purposes of paragraph (b) above the offence shall, in the case of a conviction for a continuing offence, be taken to have been committed on the date or latest date to which the conviction relates.