Newsletter - Spring 2014
The end of an era
The well-worn scenario of the police officer strolling around your car and exclaiming: 'do you realise your tax disc is out of date Sir?' should be relegated to the history books after September this year.
Since 1 January 1921 a tax disc has been issued for motorists to display on their vehicle windscreen as evidence that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) has been paid. Apparently the police now rely on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's electronic vehicle register and tools like Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras to support VED compliance.
Also motorists will be able to pay their VED by direct debit annually, biannually or monthly, should they wish to do so. However a 5% surcharge will apply to biannual and monthly payments.
So on the 1 October when the new law takes effect; who is going to be brave enough to remove their tax disc from the car windscreen? We suggest you do not throw it away but leave it in your glove box just in case.
Because the police officer will still be able to utter a variation of the historic sentence: 'according to my records, your road tax has not been paid Sir' after he has consulted the electronic records.