View Idea
Title:
Electronic Vehicle Tax
Reference ID:
127O
Department Responsible:
Department for Transport
Problem Description:
My problem is the ridiculous and archaic way we tax used vehicles.
I am currently in the process of buying a motorbike. I have paid my deposit and I am due to collect the bike this weekend. I have bought my insurance and I would love to go and buy some tax for the bike. "What is stopping you ?" you may ask. A piece of paper!
Despite the police/government/insurance companies having direct access to a national database tht tells them who owns what and whether they are taxed/insured/MOT'd, it seems that we still have to wait for a HARD copy insurance document to come through the post before I can tax my bike.
My options? Get the bike collected via a van or ride it illegally.
Fortunatley I have access to a van but many people would simply ride the bike with no tax.
Can we stop so many vehicles from being driven with no tax unneccesarily? Many who do are more than willing to get taxed but are put in an impossible situation.
Proposed solution:
Why can't there be some kind of emergency tax system?
There is already an electronic database with insurance and MOT details on, why don't we utilise this for making sure people ARE taxed instead of just catching them when they are not?
Cost or time incurred:
Could save many fixed panelties and wasing police time on people who want to be leagl but ar placed in an akward position
Department:
Department for Transport
Sector(s):
Citizen
Category(s):
Transport and infrastructure
Official response
Thank you for your Better Regulation Proposal about licensing a newly purchased vehicle and the problems created when waiting for an insurance certificate. Your proposal has been passed to the Policy and External Communications Directorate within the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport, for consideration. In making this assessment we have considered the simplification proposal and taken advice from policy officials.
However, we have determined that it will not be possible to implement your proposal. When licensing a vehicle, DVLA is required by law to ensure that there is a valid insurance policy in force. The difficulty is that it would not always be possible to make this check at short notice via the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
The insurance industry established the MID in 2001, and it is operated by the Motor Insurers Information Centre (MIIC). Whilst the MID is a key component of the DVLA’s Electronic Vehicle Licensing (EVL) service it is not always possible for a licensing office to use the MID to check if a vehicle is currently insured. Very often, an insurance policy is taken out close to the time a vehicle is licensed, particularly when a vehicle changes hands. Although the MIIC are constantly improving the accuracy and timeliness of updates, customers frequently receive the insurance documentation before the details appear on the database.
The insurance requirements for vehicle licensing are laid out in s156 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and in Regulation 9 of the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972. A person applying for a licence is required to produce a certificate of insurance, indicating that cover will be in force when the licence comes into force. This check is an important aid to road safety and, even if some form of “emergency tax” system were to be introduced, it is likely that the requirement would remain - it is such an important contribution to road safety.
Therefore, we have determined that we are unable to take your proposal forward, but we would like to extend our thanks for your time and effort in participating in this process.