CILT offers approval for proposed truck charges 26 January 2012

News that the government is to conduct a consultation on means of creating an effective charge on foreign trucks using UK roads has been welcomed by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT).

CILT says that such a charge would aid the competitiveness of the vital UK logistics industry and would pave the way for a new means of taxing commercial vehicles.

EU regulations demand that charges made on lorry operation must be applied on all such vehicles, whether UK nationals or foreign operators. As such, under the new proposals, all lorries, both UK and foreign, would be subject to a charge of around £10 a day. However, UK vehicles would be rebated the charge either through adjusted VED (vehicle excise duty) or fuel duty.

"Due to substantial differentials in the rates of VED and fuel duty charged in the UK and the rest of Europe, UK truck operators are obliged to work with higher rates of operating tax than apply elsewhere," explains CILT chief executive Steve Agg.

"At the same time, UK vehicles operating in Europe are obliged to pay numerous tolls and other charges, whereas very few UK roads are tolled. The new proposals go some way to equalising these distortions."

Author
John Challen

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