Simpler downplating
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Hauliers will soon be abele to pay lower rates of vehicle excise duty by voluntarily downplating vehicles without having to make any mechanical changes.
Freight Transport Association manager of engineering policy, Geoff Day (pictured), says the Department of Transport is about to start accepting voluntary downplating of arbcs to a gross weight of 23 tonnes without question. Two-axle rigids will be downplated without question to 12 tonnes GVW; threeaxle raids to 19 tonnes; and four-axle rigids to 27 tonnes.
Downplating of vehicles to 7.5 tonnes or below will still require physical modification. To downplate a new or unregistered vehicle operators need to take the Type Approval certificate (VTG10) and fee to a test station for the certificate to be amended, or they can be sent to the Vehicle Inspectorate at Swansea. In either case the existing plating certificate or copy has to be included with the application.
Once new VTG6s and VTG7s have been received, operators can tax their vehicles at the new VED rates.
• Fora FREE CM wallchart on down
plating and upgrading, including the latest 40/41-tonne limits, send an A4 SAE to "Wallchart", cm, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS.