Around £200,000 in vehicle duty will be forgone under a decision to grant a reduced import rate for LibertyBus’s new fleet of greener vehicles.
A ministerial decision confirmed that the concession will apply immediately to the vehicles that the bus company plans to import before the end of 2025.
Without the relief, each bus – assumed to be a fossil-fuel vehicle – would ordinarily attract the full non-commercial duty rate of £9,921.
Instead, Treasury Minister Elaine Millar has ruled that the buses will be charged at the lower commercial-vehicle rates of either £834 or £1,112 per vehicle, depending on whether a CO₂ rating is available.
The decision anticipates a legal change from 1 January 2026, when buses are due to be reclassified as commercial vehicles.
That change would permanently place lower-emission buses within the reduced-rate Vehicle Emissions Duty category.
LibertyBus, which secured a new ten-year contract to run the Island’s bus network in October 2024, is required to replace part of its fleet with 22 ultra-low-emission, high-capacity vehicles. Trials of the model were carried out earlier this year.
Deputy Millar has used her powers as Treasury Minister to bring in the lower-rate measure before the new law officially comes into force. The move mirrors relief granted earlier this year for the importation of four buses.
Explaining the decision, the report noted: “This aligns with the priority in the Common Strategic Policy 2024-2026 to address the climate emergency through the implementation of the Carbon Neutral Roadmap.
“This decision also supports the Sustainable Transport Policy: Next Steps, to raise the profile of public transport.”
The move is expected to result in a reduction of approximately £200,000 in duty that would otherwise have applied.