Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 (Repealed 1.9.1994)

9 Additional liability for keeping unlicensed vehicle. U.K.

(1) Where a person convicted of an offence under section 8 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 calculated in accordance with subsections (2) to (4) below.

(2) The said amount shall, subject to subsection (3) below, be an amount equal to one three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth of the annual rate of duty appropriate to the vehicle in question for each day in the relevant period, and the relevant period shall be one ending with the date of the offence and beginning—

(a) if the person convicted has before that date notified the Secretary of State of his acquisition of the vehicle in accordance with regulations under this Act, with the date on which the notification was received by the Secretary of State or, if later, with the expiry of the vehicle licence last in force for the vehicle, or

(b) in any other case, with the expiry of the vehicle licence last in force for the vehicle before the date of the offence or, if there has not at any time before that date been a vehicle licence in force for the vehicle, with the date on which the vehicle was first kept by that person:

Provided that, where the person convicted has been ordered to pay an amount under this section on the occasion of a previous conviction in respect of the same vehicle, and the offence then charged was committed after the date specified above for the beginning of the relevant period, that period shall begin instead with the day following that on which the former offence was committed.

(3) Where the person convicted proves—

(a) that throughout any day comprised in the relevant period the vehicle in question was not kept by him, or

(b)(c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

(d) that he has paid duty in respect of the vehicle for any such day, whether or not on a licence,

the said amount shall be calculated as if that day were not comprised in the relevant period.

[F2 (3A) Where an order has previously been made against a person under section 26A of this Act to pay an amount for a month or part of a month in the case of a vehicle, the amount which he is ordered to pay under this section in the case of the vehicle shall be calculated as if no part of that month were comprised in the relevant period.]

(4) In relation to any day comprised in the relevant period, the reference in subsection (2) above to the annual rate of duty appropriate to the vehicle in question is a reference to the annual rate applicable to it on that day; and, except so far as it is proved to have fallen within some other description for the whole of any such day, a vehicle 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 or, if the prosecution so elect, the date when a vehicle licence for it was last issued.

(5) Where, on a person’s conviction of an offence under section 8 of this Act, an order is made under [F3 Section 1C of the M1 Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973][F4 or the Probation Act (Northern Ireland) 1950][F5 placing him on probation or] discharging him absolutely or conditionally, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as if the conviction were deemed to be a conviction for all purposes.

(6) In the foregoing provisions of this section any reference to the expiry of a vehicle licence includes a reference to its surrender, and to its being treated as no longer in force for the purposes of section 8 of this Act by virtue of subsection (3)(a) of that section; and in the case of a conviction for a continuing offence, the offence shall be taken for the purposes of those provisions to have been committed on the date or latest date to which the conviction relates.

(7) The foregoing provisions of 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 [F6 Part III of the M2 Magistrates’ Courts Act 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.

(8) In its application to Scotland, this section shall have effect as if for subsections (5) and (7) there were substituted the following subsections respectively:—

“(5) Where a person is [F7 convicted on indictment of, or is] charged before a court of summary jurisdiction with, an offence under section 8 of this Act, and an order is made under [F7 Part I or] Part II of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 discharging him absolutely or placing him on probation, the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply as if [F7 the conviction on indictment were a conviction for all purposes, or, as the case may be,] the making of the order by the court of summary jurisdiction were a conviction.”

“(7) The foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect subject to the provisions (applying with the necessary modifications) of any enactment relating to the imposition of fines by courts of summary jurisdiction, 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 any enactment relating to the recovery or application of sums ordered to be paid by courts of summary jurisdiction.”

[F8 (9) In its application to Northern Ireland, this section shall have effect as if for subsection (7) there were substituted the following subsection—

“(7) A sum payable by virtue of any order made under this section by a court shall be recoverable as a sum adjudged to be paid by a conviction and treated for all purposes as a fine within the meaning of section 20 of the Administration of Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1954.””]

Extent Information

E1 This version of this provision extends to England and Wales only; a separate version has been created for Scotland and Northern Ireland only.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 9(3)(b)(c) repealed by Finance Act 1987 (c. 16, SIF 107:2), ss. 2, 72, Sch. 1 Pt. III para. 8, Sch. 16 Pt. I Note 2

F2 S. 9(3A) inserted by Finance Act 1989 (c. 26, SIF 107:2), s. 14(3)(7)

F3 Words in s. 9(5) substituted (E.W.) (1.10.1992) by Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53, SIF 39:1), s. 100, Sch. 11, para. 9; S.I. 1992/333, art. 2(2), Sch.2

F4 Words in s. 9(5) inserted (1.10.1991) by Finance Act 1991 (c. 31, SIF 107:2), s. 10(2)(a), Sch. 3, Pt. I, para. 6(1); S.I. 1991/2021, art. 2

F5 Words in s. 9(5) repealed (E.W.) (1.10.1992) by Criminal Justice Act 1991 (c. 53, SIF 39:1), ss. 100, Sch. 11, para. 9, Sch. 13; S.I. 1992/333, art. 2(2), Sch.2

F6 Words substituted by virtue of Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (c. 43), Sch. 8 para. 5

F7 Words (as applied to Scotland) repealed (S.) by Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1985 (c. 73, SIF 36:1), s. 59(2), Sch. 4

F8 S. 9(9) inserted (1.10.1991) by Finance Act 1991 (c. 31, SIF 107:2), s. 10(2)(a), Sch. 3, Pt. I, para. 6(2); S.I. 1991/2021, art. 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1973 c. 62.

M2 1980 c. 43.