Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 section 31

Relevant period for purposes of section 30

Section 31 defines the "relevant period" used to calculate the additional financial liability imposed on keepers convicted of keeping an unlicensed vehicle under section 30.

• The relevant period ends on the date the offence was committed, and its start date depends on whether the keeper notified the Secretary of State of acquiring the vehicle and whether a previous vehicle licence existed.
• If there has been a previous conviction under section 30 for the same vehicle, and that earlier offence falls after the normal start date, the relevant period instead begins with the month immediately following the month of the earlier offence.
• The convicted person can reduce the amount payable by proving that, during any month or part-month in the relevant period, they did not keep the vehicle or had already paid the duty due for that time.
• Any month or part-month for which a person has already been ordered to pay an amount under section 36 (failed payments) is excluded from the relevant period when calculating the section 30 liability.