SE23385 - Car benefit from 2002/03 onwards: when does a car have an approved CO2 emissions figure?

Paragraph 3(1) - (2) Schedule 6 ICTA 1988 and Paragraph 5B Schedule 6 ICTA 1988 as amended/introduced by Section 59 and Schedule 11 FA 2000

From 6 April 2002, the car benefit charge is calculated by multiplying the 'price of the car' by the 'appropriate percentage' based on the car's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Only an "approved CO2 emissions figure" can be taken into account. The guidance on this page explains which cars will have an approved CO2 emissions figure. It also shows where to find the guidance about finding the approved CO2 emissions figure.

Cars that are sold in the United Kingdom and in other European Union (EU) countries are required to meet safety and environmental standards under European legislation. Each car must conform to a "type" (of which a sample has been submitted by the manufacturer or importer) which has been approved by a national certification agency. The level of CO2 emitted by the car on a prescribed test cycle is one of the factors recorded during the type approval testing procedure.

The approved CO2 emissions figure for car benefit purposes is that which is recorded on the type approval certificate that summarises the results of the type approval testing procedure.

The type approval certificate may be either

• a UK approval certificate issued under Section 58(1) or (4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988, or
• an EU type approval certificate, (as required under European Union Directive 70/156/EEC as amended).

The type approval certificate is held by the car manufacturer (or importer, if appropriate). It is not held by the owner of the car. It refers to the "type" of car and not to an individual car.

Each individual car should, from 1 October 1999, also have a unique certificate of conformity, which records the approved CO2 emissions figure for the car obtained from the relevant type approval certificate. But in practice, manufacturers do not routinely provide certificates of conformity with new vehicles (although vehicle owners can ask for the certificate if necessary).

So a car has an approved CO2 emissions figure for car benefit purposes if the car is of a type for which the manufacturer has an approval certificate that specifies a CO2 emissions figure in terms of grams per kilometre driven.

The rules operated by the various car registration bodies about what constitutes a "type" of car are quite broad and car manufacturers have taken different approaches to the amount of detail in which they define a car type. But at the very least we would expect there to be separate approval certificates and therefore separate CO2 emissions figures for different models of car, and within each model range for different:

• engine sizes
• engine types
• fuel types
• transmissions (whether manual or automatic transmission)
• body styles (estate/saloon) and number of doors
• age/year of registration.

There will not necessarily be separate approval certificates for different levels of trim/fitting out of the car.

Note: For car benefit purposes the CO2emissions figure that applies at the date of first registration is set for the life of the car. It is not changed by the addition of accessories or by modifications. In the unusual case of modifications that are so substantial that they significantly change the nature of the car (for example, replacement of the engine with a larger one), seek advice fromEmployment Income Technical.

For details of how to find the CO2 emissions figure see:

SE23390 - car first registered in UK 1 March 2001 onwards

SE23395 - car first registered in UK 1 January 1998 to 28 February 2001

SE23400 - car first registered in other European Union countries

SE23405 - cars imported from outside the European Union

SE23410 - rare and one-off models

SE23415 - cases of difficulty.

Remember, for cars first registered before 1998 (whether in the UK or overseas) the car benefit charge is calculated on the basis of engine size and not CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions are not taken into account for any cars first registered before 1998, seeSE23420.