Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971

16 Trade licences

(1) If a motor trader or a vehicle tester applies in the prescribed manner to the Secretary of State to take out a licence under this section (in this Act referred to as a " trade licence ")—

(i) in the case of a motor trader, for all mechanically propelled vehicles which are from time to time temporarily in his possession in the course of his business as a motor trader and all recovery vehicles kept by him for the purpose of dealing with disabled vehicles in the course of that business; or

(ii) in the case of a vehicle tester, for all mechanically propelled vehicles which are from time to time submitted to him for testing in the course of his business as a vehicle tester; or

(iii) in the case of a motor trader who is a manufacturer of mechanically propelled vehicles, for all vehicles kept and used by him solely for purposes of conducting research and development in the course of his business as such a manufacturer,

the Secretary of State may, subject to the prescribed conditions, issue to him a trade licence on payment of duty at the rate applicable to the licence in accordance with the following provisions of this section :

Provided that the holder of a trade licence shall not be entitled by virtue of that licence—

(a) to use more than one mechanically propelled vehicle at any one time, except in the case of a recovery vehicle drawing a disabled vehicle ; or

(b) to use any vehicle for any purpose other than such purposes as may be prescribed ; or

(c) to keep any vehicle on a road if it is not being used thereon.

(2) Regulations shall be made under this section prescribing the conditions subject to which trade licences are to be issued and the purposes for which the holder of a trade licence may use a vehicle under the licence.

(3) The purposes which may be prescribed as those for which the holder of a trade licence may use a vehicle under the licence shall not include the conveyance of goods or burden of any description other than—

(a) a load which is carried solely for the purpose of testing or demonstrating the vehicle or any of its accessories or equipment and which is returned to the place of loading without having been removed from the vehicle except for such purpose or in the case of accident; or

(b) in the case of a recovery vehicle, any such load as is referred to in the definition of such a vehicle contained in subsection (8) below or a load consisting of a disabled vehicle; or

(c) any load built in as part of the vehicle or permanently attached thereto; or

(d) a load consisting of parts, accessories or equipment designed to be fitted to the vehicle and of tools for so fitting them; or

(e) a load consisting of a trailer;

and, for the purposes of this subsection, where a vehicle is so constructed that a trailer may by partial superimposition be attached to the vehicle in such a manner as to cause a substantial part of the weight of the trailer to be borne by the vehicle, the vehicle and the trailer shall be deemed to constitute a single vehicle.

(4) A trade licence may be taken out—

(a) for a period of twelve months ; or

(b) except in the case of a licence which is to be used only for vehicles to which Schedule 1 to this Act relates, for a period of four months;

and shall first have effect on the day specified by the applicant in the application for the licence.

(5) The rate of duty applicable to a trade licence taken out for a period of twelve months shall be £15 or, if the licence is to be used only for vehicles to which Schedule 1 to this Act relates, £2.50; and the rate of duty applicable to a licence taken out for a period of four months shall be eleven thirtieths of the rate applicable to the corresponding trade licence taken out for a period of twelve months, any fraction of 5p being treated as 5p if it exceeds 2-5p but otherwise being disregarded.

(6) Nothing in this section shall operate to prevent a person entitled to take out a trade licence from holding two or more trade licences.

(7) If any person holding a trade licence or trade licences issued under this section uses on a public road by virtue of that licence or those licences—

(i) a greater number of vehicles at any one time than he is authorised to use by virtue of that licence or those licences; or

(ii) any vehicle for any purpose other than such purposes as may have been prescribed under subsection (2) above;

or if that person uses that licence or any of those licences for the purpose of keeping on a road a vehicle which is not being used on that road, he shall be liable to the greater of the following penalties, namely—

(a) an excise penalty of £50; or

(b) an excise penalty equal to five times the amount of the duty chargeable in respect of the vehicle or vehicles.

The amount of the duty chargeable in respect of a vehicle shall be calculated for the purposes of this subsection in the same manner as it is calculated for the purposes of section 8 of this Act by virtue of subsection (3) thereof.

(8) In this section—

• " motor trader " means a manufacturer or repairer of, or dealer in, mechanically propelled vehicles; and a person shall be treated for the purposes of this section as a dealer in such vehicles if he carries on a business consisting wholly or mainly of collecting and delivering mechanically propelled vehicles, and not including any other activities except activities as a manufacturer or repairer of, or dealer in, such vehicles ;

• " vehicle tester " means a person, other than a motor trader, who regularly in the course of his business engages in the testing on roads of mechanically propelled vehicles belonging to other persons; and

• " recovery vehicle " means a vehicle on which there is mounted, or which is drawing, or which is carrying as part of its equipment, apparatus designed for raising a disabled vehicle wholly or partly from the ground or for drawing a disabled vehicle when so raised, and which is not used for the conveyance of goods other than a disabled vehicle wholly raised by that apparatus, and which carries no other load than articles required for the operation of, or in connection with, that apparatus or otherwise for dealing with disabled vehicles.