RICK’S FIXES
Don’t celebrate dodging road tax on your bike’s 40th birthday party – it’s delayed by DVLA policy
‘‘ROUNDING UP’ THE DATES MAY BE UNFAIR TO US, BUT IT MAKES THEIR JOB SIMPLER’
My legal advisor (my dad) has discovered something odd about the road tax exemption on 40-year-old vehicles. Firstly, it only takes effect from April each year, so if your bike was 40 in January, you’ll have to wait till then. Dad bought his Triumph in December 1979 but didn’t register it until January 7, 1980. Noticing that the law dates the vehicle by date of construction, not first registration, he asked the VMCC library to check the factory record for the date of manufacture (June 1979). So he contacted the DVLA hoping for a tax-free summer 2019. But he won’t get it – and nor will he get it for 2020, because the DVLA have declared the date of manufacture as December 1980, 11 months after he actually put it on the road...
It turns out that the DVLA ‘round up’ the date to the end of the year the vehicle first took to the road so they know that every exempt vehicle is at least 40 years old. Therefore, although dad’s Bonnie has just turned 40, he will have to wait until April 2021 before it’s recognised as eligible, assuming – as he put it – he’s still around to enjoy it! Construction date is relevant because a vehicle can only be expected to comply with legislation at the time it was made – laws may change while it sits in the showroom. Manufacturers’ records are also the surest way to date an imported vehicle; these issues are the DVLA’S main business, not classic bikes. ‘Rounding up’ the dates may be unfair to us, but it makes their job simpler to do.
In any case, be aware that just because your bike hits 40 doesn’t necessarily mean it’s now tax free.
WHO IS RICK?
Rick Parkington has been riding and fixing classic bikes for decades. He lives and fettles in a fully tooled up shed in his back garden.