Giving evidence at the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, BVRLA legal and policy director Jay Parmar outlined the main problems placing unnecessary administrative burden on rental and leasing businesses. These include the unavailability of electronic notifications, limiting vehicle excise duty (VED) to annual payments and the current cheque-based VED refund process.
Parmar said: ‘BVRLA members currently make more than six million separate transactions and payments to the DVLA each year, but more than five million of these involve paper notifications. We believe these cost businesses £10m and the DVLA a further £7m each year. An online portal would be more accurate and efficient, saving both the Government and the private sector time and money.’
The BVRLA called for the DVLA to invest in a new portal that would allow for electronic notification. Under the BVRLA’s proposals, fleets would be able to:
- Register a vehicle and receive an electronic file of vehicle registration data
- Apply, pay and receive refunds for VED via a pre-paid account
- Notify DVLA of changes to tax classes, registered addresses and keepers
The BVRLA outlined that allowing fleets to purchase tax on a multi-year basis would save businesses up to £5m. Furthermore, the Chancellor of the Exchequer would benefit from £7m in improved cash flow.
An online portal would improve data accuracy, as errors could be spotted and corrected in a timely manner. This more accurate database would also assist with vehicle recalls and enforcement, and could be used by both the DVLA and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
Parmar added: ‘Users want a one-stop shop, but don’t always know which agency to go to. There needs to be a more joined-up approach, and our proposals would make the agencies more efficient. We’re pleased the Transport Select Committee recognised fleets’ needs and called on the BVRLA to give evidence.’
