Thousands caught by non-transferable car tax change

Thousands of motorists are believed to have been caught out by a change to the excise duty rules that accompanied the scrapping of the windscreen tax disc.

The AA estimates that the Government has received a £38m windfall because people are unaware that when a vehicle changes hands, the duty previously paid is automatically cancelled, and the new owner requires to tax the vehicle from the day they acquire it.

Refunds can be claimed, but only for complete months – meaning in effect that the car has to be taxed twice for the month of handover.