Registered keepers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), registered in the UK, and drivers and owners/operators of HGVs from outside the UK accessing the UK road network can expect the collection of the levy to be suspended for 12 months from 1 August 2020.
This will reduce financial liabilities for UK and foreign hauliers operating in the UK from 1 August to facilitate economic recovery after Covid-19.
The levy was introduced in 2014 and re-designed in 2019 to better meet the environmental objective of improving air quality. It will now be suspended for 12 months to support the haulage sector as it recovers from Covid-19. The government has not consulted on this measure in order to enable rapid implementation.
This measure only affects registered keepers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), registered in the UK, and drivers and owners/operators of HGVs from outside the UK and operating on a commercial basis.
Impact on business including civil society organisations
This measure is expected to have a negligible impact on around 100,000 UK base operators of HGVs, in addition to foreign operators of HGVs operating in the UK, by not requiring them to pay the levy for 12 months. One-off costs will include familiarising themselves with the change. There are not expected to be any continuing costs. Customer experience is expected to remain broadly the same as this measure does not significantly change existing processes. There is expected to be no impact on civil society organisations.
Other impacts
This is a temporary measure and is not expected to impact air quality as it should not influence the decisions around which vehicles are purchased. The levy is based on a number of factors, not just European Emissions Standards.
