Road user levy raises £17m from foreign hauliers
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced that the Treasury has benefited by more than £17m since the introduction of the HGV Road User Levy, which charges foreign trucks for operating on UK roads.
More than 618,000 levies have been purchased since the levy came into force in April, for over 112,000 vehicles from 76 different countries. The money could pay to repair more than 320,000 potholes, the DfT said.
Transport minister Robert Goodwill said: “I welcome these figures which show that the levy brought in by this government is really working. We anticipated the levy would generate around £20m a year – to take £17m in just four months is impressive and shows that compliance has remained high since introduction.
“Before the levy was introduced we had a ridiculous situation where foreign HGV drivers could fill up their tanks on the continent, pick up business in the UK and return to the mainland without even buying fuel here – without giving a penny to help maintain our roads.
“Meanwhile British hauliers were effectively operating at a disadvantage. I’m glad to see this levy has addressed that imbalance.”
James Hookham of the Freight Transport Association added: “UK road freight operators have consistently argued that foreign-registered HGVs operating in the UK should contribute to their use of our roads. The HGV Levy ensures this, and in so doing helps those domestic UK hauliers who are in direct competition with foreign carriers for loads.”
All hauliers driving trucks of 12 tonnes or more must pay the levy before using UK roads, with discounts available for longer periods. Charges vary between £1.70 and £10 per day, or £85 to £1,000 per year.
Over 95 per cent of HGV operators were paying the new levy in Great Britain, the department said, and DVSA enforcement officers have issued over 850 fixed penalty notices to drivers who have failed to pay, resulting in fines worth a total of over £250,000.
While the levy also applies in Northern Ireland, it is currently not being enforced by DVSA’s equivalent in the province, the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), due to negotiations between Whitehall and the devolved administration at Stormont regarding the inclusion or otherwise within the scheme of roads transiting the border.
UK hauliers are also liable to pay the levy at the same time as buying their vehicle excise duty (VED), but this is balanced out in the majority of cases by a concurrent reduction in VED
