A friend of mine is a magistrate and he occasionally passes on a "word to the wise" and has just posted the following.
Just a word of warning to those who may be a bit tardy in renewing their road tax. Penalties are now much higher. If you are late renewing you can be required to pay a late renewal supplement of £40 if paid within 28 days, or £80 thereafter.
You may be offered an out of court settlement which must be paid within 28 days or a summons will be issued. If by that date you have a. not renewed the road tax, b. declared a SORN (statutory off road notice), or c. notified the DVLA of disposal there will be on conviction a MANDATORY MINIMUM PENALTY of £1000 must be ordered by the court.
The registered keeper is guilty unless a,b, or c has occurred or the vehicle has been stolen *(evidential burden is on the accused in all cases)* prior to the relevant time
I chimed in with ........
Additional to these is that it is no longer a matter of taking yer old motor down the scrappie and walking away, SORN in hand. EU legislation requires safe disposal of the freons in your air conditioning, the carbon black in your tyres and the acid in your battery - an average fee is £85.
I'm cheerfully told by my mate in the local "graveyard" that this is set to rise to around £300 in the near future. No surprise, then, that the layby up the hill from me so often has a burnt out car in it ..........
Regards,
J. Kim Siddorn,