Disposal of Diplomatic-Registered Vehicles
Diplomatic-registered vehicles that are exported, sold, transferred or scrapped, must be deregistered with the DVLA. Failure to correctly deregister a vehicle transferred or sold to another party may present a security or reputational risk to the mission, as driving offences, parking fines or other actions performed in the vehicle may be incorrectly attributed to the mission or diplomat to which it is still registered.
Diplomatic-registered vehicles which are scrapped or exported from the UK without having been correctly deregistered with the DVLA will still form part of the mission’s or diplomat’s allocation of vehicles and may affect future entitlement to obtain or register a new diplomatic vehicle.
Sale/Transfer of Diplomatic-Registered Tax-Free Vehicles to a Non-Diplomat or Non-Diplomatic Mission
A diplomatic-registered vehicle purchased in, or imported to, the UK without VAT or Duty having been paid, may only be deregistered and sold/transferred to a non-diplomat or non-diplomatic mission once the permission of the FCDO has been granted and VAT/Duty has been paid. In order to obtain permission to deregister a vehicle, a Form 5 must be submitted to the FCDO. The FCDO will grant permission to deregister the vehicle by endorsing the Form 5 and will forward it to the Personal Transport Unit (PTU) of HMRC. The PTU will assess the VAT/Duty to be paid, based on the vehicle’s current value, and send a request for payment to the diplomatic mission concerned. Once payment has been received, the PTU will endorse the Form 5 and return it to the mission. It can then be submitted to the Drivers and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), along with other necessary documentation (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers) for deregistration of the vehicle.
Sale/Transfer of Diplomatic-Registered Tax-Free Vehicles to a Diplomat or Diplomatic Mission
A diplomatic-registered vehicle purchased in, or imported to the UK, without VAT or Duty having been paid, may only be deregistered and sold/transferred to another diplomat or diplomatic mission once the permission of the FCDO has been granted. A Form 6 must be submitted to the FCDO which will be endorsed and returned to the diplomatic mission concerned. It can then be submitted to the DVLA, along with other necessary documentation (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers) for deregistration of the vehicle. No VAT/Duty need be paid.
Sale/Transfer of Diplomatic-Registered Tax-Paid Vehicles
A diplomatic-registered vehicle purchased in, or imported to, the UK with VAT or Duty having been paid at the point of purchase/importation, may only be deregistered and sold/transferred to another person, whether a diplomat or not, once the permission of the FCDO has been granted. A Form 6 must be submitted to the FCDO which will be endorsed and returned to the diplomatic mission concerned. It can then be submitted to the DVLA, along with other necessary documentation (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers) for deregistration of the vehicle. No VAT/Duty need be paid.
Export of Diplomatic-Registered Vehicles
A diplomatic-registered vehicle may be exported at any time and must be registered in the name of the diplomat or mission at the time of export. A Form 6 must be submitted to the FCDO which will be endorsed and returned to the diplomatic mission concerned. It can then be submitted to the DVLA, along with other necessary documentation (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers) for deregistration of the vehicle. No VAT/Duty need be paid
Scrapping of Diplomatic-Registered Vehicles
Scrapped diplomatic-registered vehicles may only be deregistered once the permission of the FCDO has been granted and, if necessary, VAT/Duty has been paid. For scrapped vehicles originally purchased or imported VAT/Duty free, a Form 5 must be submitted to the FCDO and the VAT/Duty paid to the PTU. For scrapped vehicles originally purchased or imported with VAT/Duty paid, a Form 6 must be submitted to the FCDO. The Form 5 or Form 6 can then be submitted to the DVLA, along with other necessary documentation (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers) for deregistration of the vehicle.
PTU Assessment of VAT/Duty to be Paid
HMRC’s PTU calculate the residual VAT/Duty due to be paid when a diplomat or mission applies to deregister a diplomatic-registered vehicle based on a fixed percentage of the vehicle’s open market value at the time of application to deregister, not its value at the time of original purchase or importation. Therefore, given vehicle value depreciation, the VAT/Duty payable at the time of deregistration is likely to be significantly lower than the VAT/Duty that would have been payable at the time of original purchase or importation. PTU’s assessments are valid for three months, should VAT/Duty not have been paid within that period, a new Form 5 must be submitted to the FCDO which will be forwarded to PTU for reassessment.
Return of Diplomatic Registration Plates
All diplomatic registration (number) plates remain the property of the DVLA on behalf of the Department of Transport. They must be returned to the DVLA upon deregistration of a vehicle (Section 5 of the DVLA’s guidance refers).
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) can be contacted via a helpline for the diplomatic and consular community on telephone 0300 123 1347. The helpline is available from 10:00hrs to 14:30hrs Monday to Friday. Alternatively, via email at DAC@dvla.gov.uk
HMRC Personal Transport Unit (PTU)- ptu.support@hmrc.gov.uk