We refer to Mr Dave Yap’s letter “Why does road tax for van rise upon renewal of COE?” (Jan 24).
A road tax surcharge is payable on all vehicles older than 10 years, to encourage timely deregistration of older vehicles, which are likely to pollute more and be prone to frequent breakdowns, thus causing inconvenience to other road users. The surcharge increases by 10 per cent of the basic road tax per annum and is capped at 50 per cent per annum.
The average annual mileage of goods vehicles of 40,000km is more than twice the 18,000 km for cars. Due to the heavier usage, goods vehicles are inspected more frequently than cars — yearly in the first 10 years and half-yearly thereafter — to ensure owners maintain their vehicles in roadworthy condition.
The vehicle’s age is used to determine the frequency of inspections as it is a good proxy for the condition of the vehicle and its components. Nonetheless, we review the inspection regime regularly and take evolving trends into account.
To ease the cost of replacing older vehicles, owners of eligible commercial vehicles can use the Early Turnover Scheme. Under the scheme, owners can transfer the remaining Certificate of Entitlement period from the existing vehicle to the replacement one and enjoy a bonus COE period proportional to the vehicle’s remaining statutory lifespan. This allows owners to register a new commercial vehicle at a cost lower than the prevailing quota premium.
We thank Mr Yap for his feedback.
A road tax surcharge is payable on all vehicles older than 10 years, to encourage timely deregistration of older vehicles, which are likely to pollute more and be prone to frequent breakdowns, thus causing inconvenience to other road users. The surcharge increases by 10 per cent of the basic road tax per annum and is capped at 50 per cent per annum.
The average annual mileage of goods vehicles of 40,000km is more than twice the 18,000 km for cars. Due to the heavier usage, goods vehicles are inspected more frequently than cars — yearly in the first 10 years and half-yearly thereafter — to ensure owners maintain their vehicles in roadworthy condition.
The vehicle’s age is used to determine the frequency of inspections as it is a good proxy for the condition of the vehicle and its components. Nonetheless, we review the inspection regime regularly and take evolving trends into account.
To ease the cost of replacing older vehicles, owners of eligible commercial vehicles can use the Early Turnover Scheme. Under the scheme, owners can transfer the remaining Certificate of Entitlement period from the existing vehicle to the replacement one and enjoy a bonus COE period proportional to the vehicle’s remaining statutory lifespan. This allows owners to register a new commercial vehicle at a cost lower than the prevailing quota premium.
We thank Mr Yap for his feedback.
