In a meeting with HM Treasury, the BVRLA and ACFO received
confirmation that the new regime will apply only to “all qualifying
expenditure incurred on or after April 1 2009”. In the
associations’ view, and in the view of accountancy firm
PricewaterhouseCoopers, which advises the BVRLA on tax matters, the
crucial word “expenditure” can only refer to “an asset being
acquired, not the ongoing depreciation of a previously acquired
asset”.
 
However, the Treasury’s position on transitional rules is not yet
clear, the associations said. “We understand that there is also the
possibility that, after an initial period, perhaps three or four
years, vehicles within the current ‘expensive car’ bracket will
need to transfer into the new system.

“The government will also want to set rules that prevent taxpayers
exploiting the existing rules by accelerating the date expenditure
is ‘incurred’ but delaying the date when a vehicle is brought into
use for higher polluting cars,” a joint letter from the BVRLA and
ACFO stated.