The NTC has revised its recommended increase to the fuel excise and registration charges
By Brad Gardner | March 7, 2013
The National Transport Commission (NTC) has revised its recommended increase to heavy vehicle registration charges and the fuel excise.
The NTC has released a statement saying charges should go up by 2.5 percent on July 1, not 2.6 percent as it proposed last week.
If the proposal is implemented, the excise will rise by 0.64 cents per litre to 26.14 cents, as opposed to increasing to 26.16 cents if charges went up by 2.6 percent.
Under the revised figure, the industry’s fuel tax credit will drop to 12 cents per litre while the cost of registering a semi-trailer will go from $6,394 to $6,555.
A nine-axle B-double will cost an extra $362 to register. The price will climb from $13,857 to $14,205 for a double road train.
Triple road train operators will pay an extra $418 from the beginning of the next financial year, with the cost of registering the combination hitting $17,025.
The NTC says the increase in charges is necessary to recoup the cost of government expenditure on the road network. It has released a document outlining the new registration fees on different classes of heavy vehicles.
Opposition spokesman on transport Warren Truss says the Coalition will not support the increase if it believes it is unjustified.