Custom Car Magazine No.531 One in Vermillion Back Issue

Yet more fresh legislation that will affect some of our
readers was announced in the Chancellor’s Budget on
19 March. With effect from 1 April this year, the Vehicle
Excise Duty payment exemption will be extended to
vehicles first registered before January 1974.
Thereafter, this will become a rolling exemption each year for
vehicles as they become 40 years old. Good news indeed, as in 2020
the Austin Metro will benefit from free road rent (if there are still
any left on the road of course) and the same will apply to the Ford
Sierra in 2025.
As often happens though, there is grey matter within this new
ruling – notably that if your vehicle was first registered between
1 January and 31 March 1974, there is currently no provision for
recompense for any VED paid prior to 1 April this year. In layman’s
terms, that means if you taxed your car that was registered on the
first day of 1974 for 12 months in January this year, you will not
benefit from VED exemption until January 2015. Presumably, you
will be able to cash in your tax disc but, to clarify the situation, the
Federation of British Historic Clubs is on the case.
The worrying thing for me, however, is that in less than 20 years’
time, vehicles such as the Renault Twingo, Nissan Quest and, that old
favourite, the Kia Sephia will officially be classified as classics. What
a scary thought that is. I can’t wait for the NSRA to follow suit and
introduce a rolling 40-year-old cut-off date for show field acceptance
at the Supernats!