| Media item | |
| | VACC win on dealer road user charge | GoAuto News,
Sandringham
by Neil Dowling
| 13 Dec 2023 | | General News - Page 28 - ID 1996437183 - Photo: Yes - Type: News Item - Size: 320.00cm2 | |
Victorian dealers set to claw back refunds on road-user charges paid since 2021 on EVs
DEALERS in Victoria will now get a refund for EV road-user charge fees paid to the Victorian government after strong consultation to VicRoads by the Victorian Automotive Chamber of Commerce (VACC).
Further, the VACC is advocating for national dealers to be exempt from proposed road-user charge fees as applied to zero and low-emission vehicles (ZLEVs) including battery EVs and plug-in hybrids under consideration by the federal government.
The Australian Financial Review (AFR) newspaper on December 1 said that federal, state and territory treasurers will develop a nationwide ZLEV tax regime following the High Court overturning the Victorian government's road user charge (RUC).
VACC industry policy advisor Michael McKenna told GoAutoNews Premium that the VACC and its Victorian Automobile Dealer Association (VADA) would now support a national case for dealers to be exempted from paying any RUC on ZLEV demonstrator stock.
He said that the chamber in 2021 negotiated with the Victorian government for franchise dealers to be granted an exemption for the first 1500km of a new ZLEV demonstrator vehicle from the RUC.
"Whilst this was a useful exemption, VADA believes that dealer demo stock should be exempted for the first 7500km," he said.
"This would allow for dealers to provide demonstration drives for as many Australians as possible with a view to showcasing the great benefits of ZLEV motoring." Subsequently, the Victorian government was challenged in the High Court of Australia with regard to the validity of the RUC and the court ruled in favour of the applicant in the Vanderstock & Anor v State of Victoria (2023) case.
The court found the RUC was invalid as it imposed a duty of excise, an exclusive power of the Commonwealth Parliament as per the meaning of excise in s.90 of the Australian Constitution.
Mr McKenna said: "VicRoads now has information on its web site that states customers are not required to pay ZLEV RUC invoices or provide odometer readings." He said VicRoads will soon be contacting eligible customers by mail to advise them of the refund process. This will include dealers who were issued and paid RUC invoices.
"To be clear, VACC has been advised that dealers with ZLEV demonstrator trading stock will no longer be required to pay the RUC invoices or provide odometer readings," he said.
Caption Text:
Michael McKenna
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