A piece of legislation was introduced into the House of Commons this month; on 23rd October a measure which was catchily named the Road User Levy Bill; it’s more interesting than it sounds. For too long British Companies wanting to transport and sell goods using Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), have been faced with a barrage of costs: high road tax, insurance and regulations. British companies have always found it rather galling that they have to pay charges or tolls in most European countries but HGVs would come across from Europe without paying to use British roads. So having paid a fraction of the costs, they’d compete with an unfair advantage. This unfairness has a knock on effect on British jobs and growth, so transport ministers are taking action. The new Bill will introduce a ‘Brit Disc;’ you will need to pay a charge to bring your lorry onto British roads. It will be time based and will vary according to the vehicle type, weight and number of axles. It will range from £85 a year for the smallest HGV up to £1,000 for the largest. The charging scale is linked to the amount of wear a HGV causes to a road. For UK operators the Bill states that this cost will be rebated through an equivalent reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty. Crucially, there will be no extra cost for British companies. Foreign-registered operators will have to pay the duty on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual rate. Not surprisingly, the Bill has been welcomed by the Freight Transport Association. It’s intended that the 2014 Budget will detail the VED reduction for British companies which will confirm that they can, at last, compete with foreign owners on equal terms. It sounds to me like a commonsense measure designed to help British businesses and jobs.