Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 section Sch 1 para 4

Special vehicles

Section Sch 1 para 4 sets out the vehicle excise duty rate for "special vehicles" — heavy vehicles over 3,500 kg that do not fall into certain exempt or concessionary categories — and defines the types of vehicle that are excluded from the special vehicle classification.

• A special vehicle is one with a revenue weight exceeding 3,500 kg that is not a special concessionary vehicle and does not fall into any of the listed excluded categories (such as digging machines, mobile cranes, mobile pumping vehicles, works trucks, or road rollers).
• The annual vehicle excise duty for a special vehicle is charged at the "basic goods vehicle rate", which is the rate for a rigid goods vehicle in column (3) of the paragraph 9 table with a revenue weight between 3,500 kg and 7,500 kg.
• Vehicles designed for carrying goods or for use with a semi-trailer are excluded from special vehicle status if they are not actually used for those purposes commercially, or at all.
• Each excluded vehicle type — digging machine, mobile crane, mobile pumping vehicle, and works truck — has strict conditions around its design, construction, and permitted use on public roads.