AIA for Chauffeur Business

AIA for Chauffeur Business

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Dear All

My client runs a Chauffeur business and is only entitled to a 10% capital allowance on his vehicle which is 5.3m long. It does not fit in a normal parking space and would be classed as a car not of 'common' usage. I have requested that HMRC grant a concession of a 100% FYA for my client due to the high mileage. HMRC have asked for evidence that they have granted this concession in the past. Can anyone provide me with such details?

Many thanks

Tracy

Replies (3)

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By George Attazder
25th Oct 2011 14:32

I don't think there are any precedents

I think that this has come up before.

The test is that it is "not of a type commonly used as a private vehicle and unsuitable to be so used".

I think the consensus was that, whilst it was probably not especially practical to use it privately, it was still potentially suitable for such use.  Or more correctly, potentially not unsuitable.  In such circumstances one hopes for pragmatism on the part of HMRC.

It's a rather ridiculous state of affairs, since dual control driving instruction vehicles have been held to be unsuitable, as has a vehicle with a large speaker mounted on the roof.

I imagine the amounts involved are sufficient to warrant progressing the matter to tribunal.

I assume that no special licence is required to drive it on the roads?  That would render it unsuitable for private use.

Thanks (1)
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By Richard Willis
25th Oct 2011 14:52

Just an observation

but if a person of independent means is driven round in a limousine by a chauffeur that, to me, is private use.  The fact that it is difficult to park becomes irrelevant as that becomes the chauffeur's problem, even if he has to drive round the block.  I think I am being devil's advocate here!

How are taxis treated?

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By statz
27th Oct 2011 14:39

Treat a car that is capable....

For PMA purposes a car is a mechanically propelled vehicle except a vehicle:

constructed in such a way that it is primarily suited for transporting goods of any sort, orof a type which is not commonly used as a private vehicle and is not suitable for use as a private vehicle.a vehicle of a type not commonly used as a private vehicle and unsuitable to be so used. This will obviously apply to a specialised vehicle, such as a bus. But it may also include outwardly conventional vehicles that have been modified in some way. Further guidance on this point is at EIM23125 onwards.

The words unsuitable for use as a private vehicle should be taken to mean unsuitable for use by members of the public generally. So, with regard to any vehicle under consideration, the key question to pose is; what are the features of this vehicle that make it unsuitable to be used privately?  

 

Treat a car that is capable of being used as a private vehicle as a car for PMA purposes no matter how the taxpayer actually uses it (Roberts v Granada TV Rental Ltd 46TC295).

Do not treat the following vehicles as cars for PMA purposes:

a car that it is illegal for a taxpayer to use as a private vehicle even if the taxpayer sometimes uses it as a private vehicle (Gurney v Richards 62TC87);cars used by a driving school and fitted with dual control mechanisms (Bourne v Auto School of Motoring (Norwich) Ltd 42TC217);emergency vehicles. A vehicle equipped with a fixed blue flashing light on the roof which can only be used on the road by a fire officer or police officer is an emergency vehicle;Hackney carriages ( traditional “London black cab” type vehicles); Double cab pick-ups with a payload of one tonne or more. (Payload is the difference between a vehicle’s maximum gross weight and its kerbside weight.)

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