Are foreign operators ready for the levy?
With the UK Road User Levy introduced on 1st April, its implementation, in just under three months, has probably surprised many transport operators and DVLA officers alike, says David Williams, managing director Rhenus UK.
The good news for UK operators is that vehicle excise duty rates will be reduced accordingly to keep the overall tax bills neutral for the majority of hauliers. However for foreign operators, this means a major hike in annual costs. In practice the new levy could add as much as £1000 per year to a foreign driver’s bill.
While I agree totally with the principle of a level playing field across EU motorways, I have real fears that the roll out of a pan European online and paper based licensing system needs more than three months to be implemented.
