Clause 16 - Vans registered on or after 1st march 2001: rates of duty
Finance Bill
10:15 am
Mr Paul Boateng (Financial Secretary, HM Treasury; Brent South, Labour)
The purpose of the clause is to establish a new lower rate of vehicle excise duty for vans meeting the Euro IV emissions standard to which I referred earlier. That is designed to offer an incentive to manufactures and purchasers to market and buy brands that meet the higher emission standards that will come into effect between 2005 and 2007. The clause provides that, from 1 March 2003, all newly registered vehicles that meet the Euro IV emission standard will pay a lower rate of duty of £105.
The hon. Member for Christchurch asked why we could not introduce the change before March 2003 to benefit those at the vanguard of progress. [Interruption.] I am glad that the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Mr. Flight) picked up on that—quick off the mark, as ever. I can understand his point, but, sadly, to be a pioneer is not always to reap the benefits that follow. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency needs time to set up systems that capture information not currently held on the vehicle record, and it must come to an agreement with manufacturers and traders on how that can be done.
We are introducing the new rate as quickly as we practicably can. We do not currently capture information on the vehicle record of the Euro standard, and it is not easy to identify vehicles without it. However, we will be able to do that once the clause takes effect. I do not know exactly how many such vans, if any, are on our roads; there may be some.