Buying or selling a horsebox? You need to read this

Horsebox owners are being reminded that tax on their vehicles will no longer be transferable when the vehicles are bought and sold.

Paper tax discs were abolished last week (2 October), and now the registered keeper will be given a vehicle tax refund when they notify the DVLA that the vehicle has been sold or taken off the road.

But buyers must also be aware that before driving a vehicle away they will have to get

“new” tax.

The DVLA told H&H the changes are not a cost-cutting exercise but “will remove an administrative inconvenience for many millions of motorists having to obtain and display

tax discs.”

Technology has made the benefits of paper tax discs redundant, with the DVLA and police relying on the electronic vehicle register to check if the tax has been paid.

“The latest estimate of vehicle excise duty evasion is just 0.6%, and there is no evidence to suggest that getting rid of the paper tax disc will make this increase,” said a DVLA spokesman.

Vehicle tax can still be purchased at a Post Office, but motorists will be given a receipt instead of a paper disc.

Drivers will still get a vehicle reminder to tell them when the tax runs out, and from 1 November will be able to pay by direct debit.

This news story was originally published in Horse & Hound magazine on Thursday 9 October, 2014

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