The Ministry of Transport has informed industry groups this week of plans to exempt unregistered vehicles operating under trade plates from Road User Charges (RUC).
Not officially announced yet, the clarification is part of a wider move extending exemption on vehicles not required to be registered.
MTA spokesperson Dougal Morrison regards the ruling as a sensible outcome for industry and transport operators.
“Government has recognised it’s not possible to issue distance licenses to unregistered vehicles, and they’ve accepted it’s not cost effective to set up new systems to do so. It’s pleasing to see commonsense has held sway on this issue,” he says.
The government has also agreed to implement a new annual charge ($245 excluding GST) for trade plates used on heavy vehicles. The annual charge would be in addition to existing charges associated with trade plates. The plan is to create a new trade plate specifically for use on unregistered heavy vehicles.
The RUC exemption is expected to be in place late 2013 or early 2014, depending on progress with the RUC Amendment Bill, which will give effect to the above two proposals.
The annual charge would come into effect on 1 January, to align with the trade plate purchase and renewal cycle.
