1,000,000th HGV Levy Sold By Northgate
The one millionth HGV Road User Levy has now been sold following the introduction of the new tax on 1 April 2014 by the Department for Transport, supported by Northgate Public Services.
The HGV Road User Levy has generated over £25 million in revenue in its first six months of operation, from foreign HGVs using UK roads. HGVs from 83 different countries have bought levies so far, with Polish vehicles being the most frequent visitors representing 27% of volume, followed by Romania with 11%.
Northgate reports that on average 6,000 levies are bought daily and compliance rates consistently top 95%.
130,000 Foreign HGVs enter the UK each year making a total of 1.5 million trips. Since the levy’s introduction, 12,000 companies have set up user accounts on the HGV Levy payment portal on www.hgvlevy.service.gov.uk.
Northgate is responsible for the set-up, management and operation of the Foreign Operator Payment System (FOPS), which enables foreign operators, drivers or booking agents to purchase the Levy in advance of a vehicle using UK roads through a number of sales channels. Foreign operators can pay daily, weekly, monthly or annually, depending on their needs, with discounts available for longer levy periods. The portal has been designed to be quick and easy to use; it has been translated into six different languages and also makes strong use of images.
Northgate reports that 96% of payments have been made through directly using the self-service payment portal, the remaining 4% were also made through the payment portal with assistance provided through points of sale and the Northgate’s customer care centre. HGVs that don’t pay the levy are liable to a £300 on-the-spot fine with over £150,000 in fines being raised to date.
Dave Meaden, Chief Executive of Northgate Public Services, said: “Reaching the one millionth mark in sales of the HGV Levy is great news and reiterates the success of the new scheme. It is clear there has been a very high level of compliance and we are pleased to have successfully delivered this major government IT programme a year ahead of schedule.
“The revenue generated through the HGV levy ensures that, for the first time, all HGVs using UK roads make a contribution to the wear and tear they help create. This has been achieved at a low risk to the taxpayer, with the service developed through an innovative commercial model, where the private sector took on all the risk and cost of development and implementation.”
UK operators pay the levy in a single transaction as part of their Vehicle Excise Duty, while Northgate is responsible for levy collection from foreign HGV operators through its payment portal at https://www.gov.uk/hgv-levy
