General

The tax is payable when a vehicle is used for economic purposes in a territory subject to taxation.

A vehicle shall be used for economic purposes in the taxation territory where it is:

• Authorized to circulate in the territory of taxation
• And linked to the economic activity of a company.

Taxation Territories

The territories to which the taxes on the use of vehicles for economic purposes are:

• Metropolitan France
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• Guiana
• Reunion
• Mayotte.

1st condition: authorization of the vehicle to travel in the territory of taxation

All vehicles which are authorized to use the roads are considered to be authorized to travel within the territory of taxation. This applies to:

• Whether or not the vehicles are registered in France
• And whether the authorization is temporary or permanent.

Thus, the following vehicles are not taxable:

• Carte grise Falling within a category or subcategory exempted from the requirement to hold a registration certificate (VRC), even when their use on the road is permitted under certain conditions
• Who do not have a valid certificate of registration or whose validity of the certificate of registration is suspended.
• Held by a used vehicle center and covered by a certificate of destruction
• Damaged and prohibited to traffic. However, at the end of the procedure, the condition of taxation is again fulfilled, at the moment when the authorization to move is restored.

By way of exception, the following vehicles are not taxable, even if they are formally authorized to travel:

• Vehicles which cannot be physically used because they have been immobilized or impounded at the request of the public authorities. Vehicles which are immobilized, impounded or made unavailable at the request of persons other than public authorities are, however, taxable.
• Authorized to circulate for the sole purpose of their construction, marketing, repair or technical inspection. This exception only applies to vehicles with a provisional registration certificate ‘WW’ or ‘W garage’ or with the use indication ‘demonstration vehicle’. It shall apply only on condition that they do not actually carry out any transport operation other than that strictly necessary for the performance of those activities.

2nd condition: attachment to an economic activity in France

General

A vehicle is considered to be connected with the economic activity of a company if it fulfills one of the following three alternative conditions:

• Be owned by a company and registered in France
• Be covered by a company and be used in France
• Travel in France for the economic activity of a company.

Any company who owns a vehicle (case 1), pays the associated professional costs (case 2) or benefits from the use of the vehicle for the purposes of his economic activity (case 3) is subject to the tax obligations (declaration, payment, etc.) linked to the taxes on the use of the vehicles for economic purposes for the vehicles authorized to circulate in the taxation territory.

Case 1: Vehicle owned by a company and registered in France

Any vehicle registered in France which is owned by a company is considered to be connected with an economic activity and thus fulfills the second condition for taxation.

A vehicle shall be considered to be owned by a company where that person:

• Owner, provided that the vehicle has not been made available to another person under a long-term rental arrangement
• Either does not own it but disposes of it in a long-term rental arrangement, without in turn making it available to a third party in a long-term rental arrangement (such as a sublease). A long-term rental arrangement is a contract under which a vehicle is available to a company for a lease of at least 2 years or for a credit transaction such as a lease with an option to purchase or a lease.

The criterion shall be considered to have been met throughout the period of detention, regardless of the actual use of the vehicle.

2nd case: vehicle covered by professional expenses paid by a company and used in France

Any vehicle for which the following cumulative conditions are met shall also be considered to be connected with an economic activity and also fulfills the second condition of taxation:

• A company shall pay, in whole or in part, the costs incurred for the acquisition, hire, use or maintenance of that vehicle, irrespective of the conditions of that compensation (reimbursement of mileage allowances on the basis of actual costs or mileage scales published by the administration or by means of flat-rate allowances). Taxation shall apply for the entire period during which the costs may be contractually borne, irrespective of the actual use of the vehicle.
• The vehicle is used, in the territory of taxation, by one or more natural persons who work for a company (employees, managers or the like), whether or not the vehicle belongs to him, in the context of business trips.

3rd case: vehicle traveling on the roads of the territory of taxation for the purposes of the economic activity of a company

Any vehicle which circulates in France for the purpose of carrying out an economic activity of a company shall also be considered to be connected with an economic activity.

This possibility applies in particular to vehicles in one of the following situations:

• Which are not registered in France but which are used in France by companies, whether or not established in France, only during the period when they are physically in France.
• Not owned by companies but which a company would have, only for the period of use by a company. This situation may apply, for example, in the case of supply free of charge by a person not subject to VAT.

General

The annual tax on heavy goods vehicles applies only to certain categories of vehicles, grouped together under the heading of "heavy goods vehicles". HGVs include:

• Insulated motor vehicles of at least 12 tons (carriers)
• Assemblies of at least 12 tons (tractor + semi-trailers)
• Trailers of at least 16 tons
• Other vehicles and vehicle combinations of at least 12 tons used for carrying out goods transport operations

The company which assigns the truck to an economic activity must pay the annual truck tax.

This is usually the company that owns the vehicle.

Where the heavy goods vehicle is a set made up of several vehicles, the company which must pay the tax on the vehicle is the one which affects the vehicle tractor for economic purposes (and not the one that owns the semi-trailer, if different companies).

On the other hand, trailers of at least 16 tons which are taxed individually must be paid by their keeper, even when the towing vehicle is owned by another company. The holder of the tractor vehicle will have to pay the tax on that tractor alone and not on the trailer.

Insulated motor vehicles of at least 12 tons (carriers)

The motor vehicles of at least 12 tons (carriers) must complete all of the following conditions to be taxable:

• They fall into the European categories N2 or N3 (heading J of the Certificate of Registration [CI]).
• Their design allows the transport of goods without a trailer or semi-trailer. These are therefore only so-called “carrier” trucks, which allow goods to be transported without being associated with another vehicle. Tractor-trucks, the design of which does not permit the carriage of goods without a trailer or semi-trailer, are not included in this category.
• Their technically permissible laden mass is at least 12 tons (heading F1 of the CI).

Assemblies of at least 12 tons (tractor + semi-trailers)

The vehicle combinations of at least 12 tons (tractor + semi-trailers) must complete all of the following conditions to be taxable:

• They consist of a vehicle of category N2 or N3 and one or more ‘semi-trailers’ of category O.
• The technically permissible laden mass of the combination shall be at least 12 tons (item F3 of the registration certificate).

Each assembly meeting these conditions shall be considered as a single vehicle.

Trailers of at least 16 tons

The trailers must complete all of the following conditions to be taxable:

• They fall into the category O4 (section J of the certificate of registration). Trailers that fall into other categories (e.g. R or S) are therefore not taxable.
• Their technically permissible laden mass shall be at least 16 tons (heading F1 of the registration certificate)
• They are coupled to a vehicle of category N2 or N3 (carrier or tractor) or a taxable combination of vehicles.

Trailers are therefore taxable only for the period during which they are associated with a vehicle capable of running them.

Vehicles or vehicle combinations used for comparable operations

The other vehicles or vehicle combinations must meet the following cumulative conditions to be taxable:

• Their technically permissible laden mass shall be at least 12 tons (heading F1 of the registration certificate)
• They are used to carry out goods transport operations comparable to those carried out by the following taxable vehicles and assemblies:
  
  • Insulated motor vehicles of at least 12 tons (carriers)
  • Assemblies of at least 12 tons (tractor + semi-trailers)
  • Trailers of at least 16 tons.

Vehicles circulating in the Roma or Corsica

All vehicles traveling in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyane, Reunion, Mayotte or Corsica are exempted of the annual tax on heavy goods vehicles when they are circulating in those territories.

Vehicles registered outside France

Heavy goods vehicles not registered in France which are engaged in an economic activity in France shall not be not taxable in the following cases:

• The vehicle was registered in another Member State of the European Union (EU). Vehicle combinations shall not be taxable where at least one component has been registered in another EU Member State, provided that the combination has been subject in that other Member State to a tax comparable to the annual heavy goods vehicle tax.
• The vehicle was registered in one of the following States:
  
  • Albania
  • Algeria
  • Andorra
  • Belarus
  • Bosnia
  • Kazakhstan
  • Macedonia
  • Morocco
  • Moldova
  • Montenegro
  • Russia
  • Serbia
  • Switzerland
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey.

Vehicles of a particular type

The following vehicles are exempt of annual heavy goods vehicle tax:

• Collection vehicles
• Vehicles equipped with certain public and industrial works equipment.

To be exempt, vehicles equipped with certain public works and industrial equipment must consist of a road chassis on which the following equipment is settled:

• Lifting and handling equipment (cranes, derricks, fir trees, etc.)
• Pumps and pumping stations, meaning any apparatus which compresses a fluid (air or water) or forces its circulation (very high pressure pumps, tunnel washer, hydrogummer, etc.)
• Mobile motor compressor units
• Concrete mixers and concrete pumps, the purpose of which is to enable the manufacture of concrete, excluding drum mixers (trucks or mixers) used for the transport of concrete
• Mobile generating sets (generators, converters or mobile transformers)
• Mobile drilling rigs.

For the exemption to apply, the following 2 conditions must be met:

• The equipment is fixed in a fixed, durable or permanent manner.
• Vehicles shall be used exclusively for the transport of such equipment (and of items which are useful or necessary for its operation). Where several successive operations are carried out, only some of which satisfy this condition of exclusive use, the exemption shall be applied in proportion to the duration of the use of the vehicle for the exempted operations.

Vehicles used for road maintenance

Heavy goods vehicles used for road maintenance are exempt from taxes on heavy goods vehicles. These lanes include lanes that are open or not to public traffic, lanes that must be used for a fee, and vehicle parking spaces.

Maintenance shall include all operations aimed at preserving the safety or comfort of road users, in particular the following operations: sweeping or cleaning of roads, tarring, snow removal, road marking, installation and maintenance of signaling devices, preservation of shoulders (including vegetation).

Vehicles used in other special circumstances

Heavy goods vehicles which are engaged in the following activities shall also be exempt from the payment of the heavy goods vehicle tax:

• Transport which takes place within the confines of construction sites or companies, even if such transport leads them to cross roads open to public traffic
• Transport of goods from circuses or to the catering and accommodation of circus staff
• Transport of games, fairground rides and other goods used in fairground parties
• Activities of equestrian centers
• Transport of the crops of a farmer, where such transport is carried out by the same farmer. This applies only to the transport of the products of the land (livestock, milk, effluents etc. are subject to the tax).

Rules common to exemptions

General rule

The annual amount of taxes on the use of vehicles for economic purposes is equal, for each such tax and vehicle, to the product of the following factors:

• Annual proportion of vehicle allocation to the economic activity of the company
• Annual tariff applicable to the vehicle in relation to its technical characteristics and uses.

The amount resulting from this operation must be rounded to the nearest euro, with the euro fraction equal to 0,5 to be counted as 1.

Annual allocation proportion

The annual proportion of assignment is the number of days in the year in which the taxable vehicle is assigned for economic purposes.

It is calculated according to the following formula: Number of days during which the vehicle is taxable is used for economic purposes or period of employment (‘taxation period’) / Total number of days in the calendar year (365 or 366 for leap years).

The proportion shall be calculated separately for each vehicle and each company liable.

One weighting coefficient shall be applied to the annual proportion of allocation for vehicles taxable on account of their use in France and the assumption of professional expenses associated with such use by a company.

Applicable Annual Rates

The rate of the annual heavy goods vehicle tax varies according to a scale which depends on the following:

• Category of heavy goods vehicles (single motor vehicle, articulated assembly or trailer)
• Number of axles
• Technically permissible laden mass
• Presence or absence of an air suspension system or a system recognized as equivalent.

The annual rate provided for in this schedule generally corresponds to the annual rate applicable to the vehicle, apart from any exemptions or reductions.

The applicable tariff depends on the characteristics of the vehicle and, in certain situations, on the use to which it is assigned.

Fares, normal or reduced, are applied to a vehicle based on its intended use, regardless of its actual use.

Thus, the vehicle fulfills this condition of assignment not only on the days during which it is actually traveling for this purpose, but also on those days during which it is not traveling but may be considered as being assigned to this purpose. This applies in particular to days when the vehicle is not used, taking into account rest and holidays or, more generally, constraints linked to the management of the stock of vehicles or to the conditions for carrying on economic activity.

A vehicle which, during the taxation period, is used for only one use is therefore considered to be used for that use during the whole period regardless of the number of days during which it is actually used.

The scale is presented in the following table.

For the application of the heavy goods vehicles consisting of a tractor and one or more semi-trailers, the parameters are determined under the following conditions:

• Only the axles of the semi-trailer are taken into account (without those of the tractor). Where the heavy goods vehicle has several semi-trailers, the number of axles of the one with the largest number shall be used.
• The mass retained is the technically permissible laden mass of the assembly (heading F3 of certificate of registration of the towing vehicle).
• The presence or absence of the suspension system shall be assessed at the level of the towing vehicle only.

Tariff reduction in combined transport

The annual rate is reduced by 75% when the heavy goods vehicle is transported in combined transport.

Combined transport is the transport of goods between EU Member States for which a vehicle (carrier truck or tractor, trailer or semi-trailer) uses:

• The route for the initial or terminal part of the journey, which shall be limited to the transfer of goods between the point of loading or unloading and the nearest multimodal platform (i.e. the nearest appropriate railway station or, within 150 km as the crow flies, the river or sea port of embarkation or disembarkation)
• For the other part of the journey, the railway, a waterway or a sea route where that sea route exceeds 100 kilometers as the crow flies.

For a vehicle to be considered to be carried in combined transport in the case of heavy goods vehicles consisting of several components, it is sufficient that some of the various components are carried on board the train or boat.

The reduced rate for combined transport shall apply only for the period during which the vehicle is used for combined transport.

Thus, where, in a calendar year, a vehicle is used both for combined transport and for the exclusively road transport of goods, the reduction shall be applied in proportion to the period of assignment to combined transport.