Nearly 3,000 foreign vehicles have been seized by the DVLA since April 2014
AutoExpress has revealed that, since beginning its foreign vehicle pilot scheme in April 2014, the DVLA has seized nearly 3,000 foreign vehicles that have overstayed their six months’ welcome.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) began its trial to clampdown on foreign vehicles that have been driving in the UK for more than six months in April 2014 and since then they have successfully seized almost 3,000 vehicles and recovered nearly £42,000 in unpaid taxes.
DVLA, Swansea
Under UK law, foreign vehicles can remain in the country for six months with a foreign registration plate. After this time period has elapsed, the owner must pay vehicle excise duty and apply for UK registration, if they want to keep the auto in the country.
Due to the initial success of the pilot scheme, the DVLA increased its activity and gained the support of a further 11 police forces to tackle the problem of unregistered foreign vehicles; in the pilot trail, there was only 4 police forces targeting the issue.
The DVLA is also working with HM Revenue & Customs, which supplies the DVLA and police forces with important information for catching those flouting the rules.
The owners of seized vehicles must pay 1.5 times the amount of the outstanding vehicle tax and a £30 fixed penalty fine, otherwise they will be prosecuted in a court of law. According to AutoExpress, the DVLA has recovered £42,703 in unpaid taxes and has successfully prosecuted 621 motorists.
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