The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) has released his annual report on the DVLA’s collection of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). VED is tax which must be paid for most types of vehicles used, or kept, on public roads in the United Kingdom. In 2019-20, the DVLA Trust Statement recorded £6,863 million of VED revenue and enforcement fines and penalties, an increase of £383 million (5.9%) on 2018-19 levels.
The C&AG’s report this year concludes positively on how DVLA has carried out its core tax collection responsibilities.
It also shows:
- the 2019 rate of compliance with VED among vehicle keepers was 98.4%, which is an improvement from the 2017 measurement. However, compliance is not yet at target level and there is a continued need for the DVLA’s pro-active efforts to increase compliance;
- the DVLA’s progress in targeting enforcement efforts promoting VED compliance;
- recent evidence which suggests that incentives in VED have had a limited effect on influencing decarbonisation and that there have been increases in average carbon intensity of newly registered vehicles in recent years, in the context of a current HM Treasury call for evidence on VED reform; and
- forecast levels of future VED revenue, and the associated uncertainties associated with these.
DVLA annual report and accounts 2019-20
Audit certificate and report (pages 67-81)
