vehicle tax and licensing

Summary

A request was made to the Department of Infrastructure for clarification on vehicle registration fees, the purpose of vehicle tax, and refund policies under Isle of Man law. The authority confirmed that all requested information was sent, addressing the £15 registration fee, the destination of revenue, and the specific legal conditions required for tax refunds.

Key Facts

• Vehicle registration or change of ownership incurs a £15 fee.
• Vehicle tax (duty) is calculated based on carbon emissions and engine size.
• Refunds for vehicle tax are only available if the vehicle is exported, scrapped, or written off.
• No refunds are provided for vehicles temporarily taken off the road or parked on private driveways.
• The 1985 Act allows for rebates only if specific prescribed requirements are met upon surrendering the licence.

Data Disclosed

• £15
• 2024-04-23
• 2024-05-13
• 2015 Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Regulations
• 1985 Act
• 365th
• R1 form

Original Request

Seeking clarity around vehicle licensing, registration and car tax. 1.Car registration Registration is initially registering the vehicle on the IOM into your name or a change in ownership using the form linked below. Currently stands at £15 fee. a. Is this correct? b. Does this fee and any other costs go into the general revenue of the island? c. What departments get sent this data on the form? d. Why does the registration document say 'registered keeper' and not 'owner'? https://www.gov.im/media/1380362/mvr2-2023-02052023.pdf 2. Vehicle Licence and tax - definition and purpose Vehicle licence or 'tax disc' that is displayed in the car window, is issued once a 'Duty' is paid. This duty is based off the car's carbon emissions and engine size. The 'duty' is also described as 'Vehicle Tax' or 'Vehicle Licence Fee'. a. Who sets this 'duty'? b. If someone cannot afford to pay for 6 or 12 months at a time, what are the options? b. This duty and all vehicle fees and charges goes into the general revenue right? b. What problem does this 'duty' solve? https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/drivers-and-vehicles/vehicle-registration-and-licensing/vehicle-licences/ 3. Refunds According to the licensing officer, a refund on the vehicle tax can only be given if the vehicle is exported, scrapped or an insurance write off which is stated on a R1 form for claiming a refund. There is no refund if it is temporarily off the road. I was referred to the 2015 Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Regulations. a. Is that correct? b. Where does it state no refunds of 'duty' paid will be given in the above 2 linked forms upon payment? c. Please provide the exact citation in the relevant Acts that states no refunds/partial refunds are given for this 'duty', should the vehicle be taken off the road for whatever reason. d. If someone isn't using their car for 6 months due to cost for example, and it will be parked on their driveway off the roads, there is no opportunity to get a refund for the unused portion of the 'duty' they paid? e. The 2015 regulations refers to the 1985 Act where it seems a refund is possible. What are the 'prescribed requirements'? 9 Surrender of vehicle licence [P1971/10/17] 1. (1) The holder of a vehicle licence may at any time surrender the licence to the Department in the prescribed manner.12 2. (2) In such circumstances as may be prescribed, the holder of a vehicle licence, on surrendering the licence, shall be entitled, if he satisfies the prescribed requirements, to receive from the Department by way of rebate of duty paid on the licence a sum equal to ' 1. (a) one 365th of the annual rate by reference to which duty was charged on the licence, multiplied by ' 2. (b) the number of days in the period beginning with the day on which the licence is received by the Department under subsection (1) and ending with the day in which the licence would have expired.13 https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1985/1985-0021/1985-0021_3.pdf

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 3817538 13 May 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 23 April 2024, which states:

"Seeking clarity around vehicle licensing, registration and car tax.

1.Car registration

Registration is initially registering the vehicle on the IOM into your name or a change in ownership using the form linked below. Currently stands at £15 fee.

a. Is this correct?

b. Does this fee and any other costs go into the general revenue of the island?

c. What departments get sent this data on the form?

d. Why does the registration document say 'registered keeper' and not 'owner'?

https://www.gov.im/media/1380362/mvr2-2023-02052023.pdf

1. Vehicle Licence and tax - definition and purpose

Vehicle licence or 'tax disc' that is displayed in the car window, is issued once a 'Duty' is paid. This duty is based off the car's carbon emissions and engine size. The 'duty' is also described as 'Vehicle Tax' or 'Vehicle Licence Fee'.

a. Who sets this 'duty'?

b. If someone cannot afford to pay for 6 or 12 months at a time, what are the options?

b. This duty and all vehicle fees and charges goes into the general revenue right?

b. What problem does this 'duty' solve?

https://www.gov.im/categories/travel-traffic-and-motoring/drivers-and- vehicles/vehicle-registration-and-licensing/vehicle-licences/

1. Refunds

According to the licensing officer, a refund on the vehicle tax can only be given if the vehicle is exported, scrapped or an insurance write off which is stated on a R1 form for claiming a refund. There is no refund if it is temporarily off the road. I was referred to the 2015 Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Regulations.

a. Is that correct?

b. Where does it state no refunds of 'duty' paid will be given in the above 2 linked forms upon payment?

c. Please provide the exact citation in the relevant Acts that states no refunds/partial refunds are given for this 'duty', should the vehicle be taken off the road for whatever reason.

d. If someone isn't using their car for 6 months due to cost for example, and it will be parked on their driveway off the roads, there is no opportunity to get a refund for the unused portion of the 'duty' they paid?

e. The 2015 regulations refers to the 1985 Act where it seems a refund is possible. What are the 'prescribed requirements'?

9 Surrender of vehicle licence

[P1971/10/17]

1. (1) The holder of a vehicle licence may at any time surrender the licence to the Department in the prescribed manner.12

2. (2) In such circumstances as may be prescribed, the holder of a vehicle licence, on surrendering the licence, shall be entitled, if he satisfies the prescribed requirements, to receive from the Department by way of rebate of duty paid on the licence a sum equal to '

3. (a) one 365th of the annual rate by reference to which duty was charged on the

licence, multiplied by '

1. (b) the number of days in the period beginning with the day on which the licence is received by the Department under subsection (1) and ending with the day in which the licence would have expired.13

https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1985/1985- 0021/1985-0021_3.pdf"

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information that is being released to you.

1) a) Registering a vehicle in to the Island for the first time either new or previously elsewhere costs £29 to put the next in line registration number on the vehicle or a Cherished Number can be purchased, costs for Cherished Numbers vary in accordance to the number which you may want to buy. A change of ownership is done on an existing IOM registered vehicle and the fee is currently £15. b) All fees charged are paid into the general revenue. c) The data supplied on the form is only used to record the information on the Vehicle Registration database and this may be done by the DOI or by the DOI’s agents, IOM Post Office, who are the processing agent for the DOI. It is not sent to any other Department but under existing legislation other Departments may obtain this information under the Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Act 1985 and Licensing and Registration of Vehicle Regulations 2015 under the provisions specified in section 22 – Disclosure of registration or licensing particulars, .Section 10 of Schedule 3 to The Road Traffic Act 1985 and a data sharing agreement allows the Police to access the vehicle registration database for enforcement. d) The legislation is written to the vehicle being registered to a keeper or ‘a registered keeper’ i.e. the person in whose name and who has responsibility for the vehicle. In some, but not all, cases the owner and registered keeper may not be the same. For example an owner could be somebody who is leasing the vehicle under a hiring agreement. In this instance they are not driving/using the vehicle and the ‘registered keeper’ is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is being used in accordance with the requirements of legislation.

2) a) Duty is determined by Officers of the Department and approved by Tynwald to become legislation. b) The only option is to keep the vehicle off the road as duty can only be paid for 6 months or 12 months at a time, there is no provision in place to pay in any other format. c) All fees charged are paid into general revenue.

d) Payment of Vehicle Duty into general revenue generates income for the Island that can be spent on the maintenance of the road network

3) a) The explanation is correct. b) Form R1 for claiming a refund lists the reasons in which a refund may be given. c) The legislation only states in what circumstances the refund can be made i.e. exported/scrapped or written off. This can be found in the section 19(3) of the Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Regulations 2015., the surrender or cancellation of the licence does not prescribe a refund other in the circumstances in 19(3) where it refers to a rebate in accordance with section 9 of the Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Act 1985 that allows Regulations to prescribe the circumstances for which a refund is eligible. The Licensing and Registration of Vehicles Regulations 2015 does this under 19(3). d) Correct, this would not constitute a reason for refund as explained above. e) Please see answers 3b and 3c.

Please quote the reference number 3817538 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
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Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.