Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 section 35

Failure to return licence

Section 35 imposes a penalty on a person who fails to return a vehicle excise licence (tax disc) to the Secretary of State when required to do so, and sets out how the penalty is calculated based on the period of non-compliance.

• A person who fails to return a vehicle excise licence when required commits an offence and is liable to a financial penalty.
• The maximum penalty is whichever is greater: level 3 on the standard scale of fines, or five times the annual rate of vehicle excise duty applicable to the vehicle.
• The provision applies where a licence is required to be returned — for example, when a vehicle is scrapped, exported, or declared off the road — and the holder does not comply.
• The penalty calculation based on a multiple of the duty rate ensures that the sanction reflects the tax value of the vehicle concerned, discouraging prolonged non-compliance.