Vehicles (Excise) Act 1971 (Repealed 1.9.1994)

7 Miscellaneous exemptions from duty.E+W+S

(1)If an applicant for a vehicle licence satisfies the Secretary of State that the vehicle is intended to be used on public roads—

(a)only in passing from land in his occupation to other land in his occupation, and

(b)for distances not exceeding in the aggregate six miles in any calendar week,

then, with the consent of the Treasury, the Secretary of State may exempt the vehicle from the duty chargeable under this Act in respect of the use of the vehicle on roads; but if a vehicle so exempted is used on public roads otherwise than for the purpose or to the extent specified above, the vehicle shall cease to be exempted.

F1[(2)A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of its use by or for the purposes of a person (“a disabled person”) suffering from a physical defect or disability or by reason of its being kept for such use if—

(a)it is registered under this Act in the name of that person; and

(b)he has obtained, or is eligible for, a grant under paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 to the M1National Health Service Act 1977 [F2or section 46(3) of the M2National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978] in relation to that vehicle or is in receipt of a mobility allowance [F3or a mobility supplement]; and

(c)no other vehicle registered in his name under this Act is exempted from duty under this subsection or section 7 of the M3Finance Act 1971;

and for the purposes of this subsection a vehicle shall be deemed to be registered in the name of a disabled person in receipt of a mobility allowance [F3or a mobility supplement] if it is registered in the name of [F4an appointee] or in the name of a person nominated for the purposes of this subsection by the disabled person or by [F4an appointee].]

[F5(2A)In subsection (2) above—

  • “mobility supplement”means a mobility supplement under—

(a)a scheme made under the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act M41939, or

(b)an Order in Council made under section 12 of the Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act M51977,

or any payment appearing to the Secretary of State to be of a similar kind and specified by him by order made by statutory instrument; and

  • “appointee”means—

(i)a person appointed pursuant to regulations under the Social Security Act M6 1975 to exercise any of the rights or powers of a person in receipt of a mobility allowance, or

(ii)a person to whom a mobility supplement is paid for application for the benefit of another person in receipt of the supplement.

(2B)An order under subsection (2A) above may provide that it shall be deemed to have come into force on any date after 20th November 1983.]

(3)A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of its use for clearing snow from public roads by means of a snow plough or similar contrivance, whether forming part of the vehicle or not, or by reason of its being kept for such use or by reason of its use for the purpose of going to or from the place where it is to be used for clearing snow from public roads by those means.

[F6(3A)Regulations under this Act may provide that, in such cases, subject to such conditions and for such period as may be prescribed, a mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act if it has been imported by —

(a)a person for the time being appointed to serve with any body, contingent or detachment of the forces of any prescribed country, being a body, contingent or detachment which is for the time being present in the United Kingdom on the invitation of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, or

(b)a member of any country’s military forces, except Her Majesty’s United Kingdom forces, who is for the time being appointed to serve in the United Kingdom under the orders of any prescribed organisation, or

(c)a person for the time being recognised by the Secretary of State as a member of a civilian component of such a force as is mentioned in paragraph (a) above or as a civilian member of such an organisation as is mentioned in paragraph (b) above, or

(d)any prescribed dependant of a person falling within paragraph (a), paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) above.]

(4)Regulations under this Act may provide that, in such cases and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, a mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act by reason of any use made of it for the purpose of a public or local authority’s functions in connection with civil defence as defined in the M7Civil Defence Act 1948, or by reason of its being kept on a road for any such use, or both.

[F7(4A)A mechanically propelled vehicle shall not be chargeable with any duty under this Act at a time when it is used or kept on a road by a health service body, as defined in section 60(7) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 or a National Health Service trust established under Part I of that Act or the National Health Service (Scotland) Act M81978.]

(5)Regulations under this Act may provide for the total or partial exemption for a limited period from the duty chargeable under this Act of any mechanically propelled vehicles for the time being licensed under section 1 or 10 of the M9Vehicles (Excise) Act (Northern Ireland) 1954; and, without prejudice to section 37(1) of this Act, regulations made under this subsection may—

(a)make different provision in relation to vehicles of different descriptions;

(b)provide that any exemption conferred by the regulations in respect of any vehicle shall have effect subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M41939 c.82(101A:2).

M51977 c.5 (113:1).

M61975 c.14 (113:1).

M81978 c.29 (113:2).