new car tax laws

[glenis]

watching the tv ad for the new car tax laws got me wondering,if you sold your car to a person who gave you a false name and address,would you still be liable for non payment of the tax? do you have to ask for proof of id when selling ? also if all the dvla have to do ,to see who has not paid their tax,is to check their computers ,why can't they use them to check the last owner of all the abandoned vehicles you see parked around?

[rinkytink]

I believe that as long as you inform the DVLA that ownership has been transferred then you will not be liable for the tax.

New Car Tax Rules
What are the changes?
" The new car tax (vehicle licensing) rules mean that from 1 January 2004 the registered keeper of a vehicle (the person named on DVLA's record) remains responsible for taxing a vehicle (or making a SORN declaration) until that liability is formally transferred to a new keeper. To avoid liability for taxing it, the keeper needs to inform DVLA when the vehicle is off the road, or has been sold, transferred, scrapped or exported. Once DVLA has been notified about a sale/transfer or that the vehicle is off-road we will issue an acknowledgement letter, which should be kept as proof that the vehicle record has been changed. "

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/newrules/car_tax.htm

[smudge]

Whatever you do, ALWAYS keep copies of anything you send to the DVLA! It can save so much trouble later!