No enforcement of the HGV Road User Levy is currently taking place in Northern Ireland and officials at the Department of the Environment [DOE] in the province do not even have the power to enforce the charge for foreign-registered trucks using roads in the UK.
Northern Ireland Minister of the Environment Mark Durkan confirmed the lack of enforcement at a meeting of the Northern Ireland Assembly last month. He said in response to questions about enforcement of the levy, that as discussions about exempted routes were still under way and subordinate legislation relating to the levy had not yet gone through: "DOE officials do not have the power to enforce here, and therefore are not enforcing.
"No one is currently enforcing the HGV levy in Northern Ireland," he continued, adding that the DOE has not yet even agreed to be the enforcing body in NI.
"The DfT’s plans have been based on the premise that my department, through DVA, will enforce it in Northern Ireland, including through the use of fixed penalty notices and deposits. That is not a position that I have agreed to," he stated.
"At present, therefore, the levy is by law in place throughout the UK and any haulier, regardless of country of origin, is required to pay for the use of roads in the UK, including in Northern Ireland.
"However, in the absence of the necessary agreements for DOE staff to undertake enforcement and my making secondary legislation through the Assembly to enable fixed penalty notices to be used for the offence of not paying the levy, the DfT has a limited range of means by which to enforce payment of the levy."
The DfT and its agencies can still arrest drivers caught not paying the levy and bring a prosecution, stressed Durkan.
A decision about the DfT’s request for the DOE to handle enforcement of the levy in NI will be made once discussions about a possible exemption for the A5 have been concluded, he added.
Willie Oliver, MD of Coleraine-based Oliver Transport Services and a former national chairman of the RHA, told CM there was "no doubt" the levy was to be enforced in NI and revealed that the RHA had been scheduled to hold a meeting with Durkan on 20 May to discuss enforcement. That meeting was cancelled by the minister, however, and has yet to be rescheduled, said Oliver.
If the DOE ultimately declines to enforce the levy, HMRC might be a logical second choice, Oliver suggested. "It’s unlikely, but it’s possible…. but the Driver and Vehicle Agency is the obvious agency to do it," he said.
For more see our HGV Road User Levy guide.
This story first appeared in the 5 June edition of Commercial Motor. Why not subscribe today?
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