Explanatory note

The Finance Act 2019 amended the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (“VERA”) to exempt a taxi capable of zero emissions (“TCZE”) from the additional supplement of vehicle excise duty for vehicles with a list price of more than £40,000. It also conferred a power on the Secretary of State to define, through regulations, which vehicles are a TCZE.

Regulation 2(1) provides that a TCZE is either a vehicle which qualifies for plug-in taxi grant as set out in the guidance document “plug-in taxi grant vehicle application form and guidance notes” or is of a model specified in a list maintained by the Secretary of State. By virtue of regulation 1(c), these Regulations have effect in relation to licences taken out on or after 1^st April 2019. The power to make this provision is contained in paragraph 1GG(6) of Schedule 1 to VERA and section 59(4) of the Finance Act 2019.

The guidance document is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plug-in-taxi-grants-eligibility-and-applications and the list is available at https://www.gov.uk/plug-in-car-van-grants. Regulation 2(2) requires that the list must be published and that models may be included in the list with effect, including backdated effect, from 1st April 2019. The power to backdate is provided by paragraph 1GG(4)(c) of Schedule 1 to VERA and section 59(4) of the Finance Act 2019.

Hard copies of the guidance document and the list are available from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles at Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR.

A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as it is not expected to have significant impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors. An Explanatory Memorandum has been prepared for these Regulations and is available alongside this instrument on the UK Legislation website www.legislation.gov.uk.