A tradesman is charging me HGV tax. Is that fair?
A tradesman is charging me HGV tax. Is that fair?
I recently had some major work carried out on my property. When the work was completed, I received an invoice that included a surcharge called the "R.P.L.P. tax". I don't understand what this tax is, and I'd like to know if it's legal.
C. Geneva
The HVF is the abbreviation for "Heavy Vehicle Fee". It is a federal charge levied on the basis of the total weight of the vehicle, its emission category and the kilometres travelled in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It is levied for the entire Swiss public road network on heavy vehicles registered in Switzerland or abroad, i.e. motor vehicles and trailers used to transport people or goods.
The unit of measurement for this tax is the centime per tonne per kilometre (ct./tkm). The amount depends on the emission category of the vehicle: the less polluting it is, the lower the tax. For example, a 24-tonne Euro 6 lorry travelling 150 kilometres will have to pay a tax of CHF 82.08 (2.28 ct./tkm * 24 t * 150 km).
The law makes no provision for private companies to pass on this tax to the end consumer. However, it seems logical that anyone who transports large quantities of goods for personal use should pay the tax that the carrier will have to pay in connection with the delivery.
However, tradesmen who do not use heavy goods vehicles sometimes charge RPL tax to the final consumer. Nevertheless, it is highly likely that goods installed on a customer's premises, for example by a tiler, will have been transported by lorry at some point and therefore taxed, thereby increasing the price of the goods. It does not therefore seem untenable for the craftsman who delivers the product to the end customer to charge the amount of tax paid to his own suppliers on his final invoice. However, this tax must correspond to what was actually paid and cannot be a hidden means of increasing the contractor's margin.
