POND ISLAND--A significant number of vehicle owners who have taken advantage of the four-month government grace period on road tax payment are slowly finding out they have lost their current licence plate numbers.
While the grace period on payment started in late February and will end on June 30, the deadline for payment to retain current licence plate numbers was March 31. This means anyone who did not pay by that date will receive a different plate number when they pay.
Finance Minister Michael Ferrier said of the situation: "The deal was: extension to pay ’til end of June. However, if you wanted to keep your number, that deadline was March 31."
Those who missed the detail of the March 30 retainment deadline will now face the additional cost of having to change their inspection card.
Government has collected almost NAf. 7 million to date from 63 per cent of vehicle owners who have opted to pay their annual road tax already in spite of the grace period.
By the time the grace period was announced as a way to ease the burden on the Hurricane Irma-recovering population, a significant number of people had already paid the tax ahead of the annual February deadline. Others continued to pay even after the grace period announcement.
A total of 35,508 sets of 2018 vehicle number plates were ordered by government. This represents 5,480 pairs more than the 30,028 that had been ordered for 2017. Also ordered were 1,000 plates for motorbikes, the same quantity that had been ordered for 2017.
The price for the number plate is NAf. 12.50 for all types of vehicles and NAf. 7.50 for motorbikes.
Motorists with number plates M, P, SXM, MR (ministers) and PAR (parliament) will be expected to pay NAf. 275 in motor vehicle tax for gasoline-operated vehicles and NAf. 750 for diesel-fuel-operated ones.
Motorists with R plates will pay NAf. 300 for gasoline-operated vehicles and NAf. 750 for diesel-fuel-operated vehicles.
Taxis, BUS, G (group) and T (tour buses with 35 passengers or less) pay NAf. 275 for gasoline-operated vehicles and NAf. 550 for diesel-fuel-operated vehicles.
Vehicles with V and Z plates that weigh more than 3,500kg will pay NAf. 1,250 for gasoline or diesel-fuel-operated vehicles. Vehicles with V plates that weigh less than 3,500kg will pay NAf. 275 for gasoline-operated vehicles and NAf. 750 for diesel-fuel-operated vehicles.
Persons with MF (motorbike) plates will pay NAf. 200 and those with MF (mopeds) will pay NAf. 50 in motor vehicle tax.
The grace period instituted by government for the inspection of vehicles also expires on June 30.
