Police get 'Big Brother' powers to raid homes of EV drivers who dodge new tax - sparking accusations of a 'state power grab'

Police forces are set to be handed 'Big Brother' powers to raid the homes of drivers suspected of dodging Labour's new pay-per-mile road tax scheme.

Under the biggest shake-up of road tax laws for decades, officers and transport officials will be responsible for cracking down on anyone suspected of 'odometer fraud' when calculating their bill for using the roads.

According to laws drawn up by ministers, officers can 'enter any premises' where a vehicle is registered and 'inspect', 'test' and 'detain' family vehicles 'for such time as is required to inspect or test it'.

They can also force motorists to 'move the vehicle to a place where an inspection or test can be carried out'. A new criminal offence for not complying will be created.

But the proposals sparked a furious backlash from MPs and civil liberties campaigners last night, who branded it 'another power grab by the state' and warned that motorists where honest mistakes had been made face having a police officer knocking at the door.

They also said the proposals were yet more proof that 'Labour's war on drivers has gone into overdrive' and that they would be a waste of police time for already over-stretched forces.

Pay-per-mile, also known as electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED), will be introduced for hybrid and electric car owners from April 2028.

The new levy will be charged at 1.5p a mile for hybrid motorists and 3p for fully electric cars and will be paid in addition to the current standard road tax (Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)). 

But drivers will have to submit their mileage reading at the end of each year so their eVED bill can be calculated.

This will be cross-referenced with a mileage reading taken during the car's annual MOT to check whether drivers are fraudulently inputting lower mileage to dodge the tax.

If any discrepancies spark suspicion among transport officials at the DVLA, they, alongside police officers, will have the power to visit people's homes and inspect and detain their vehicles, according to the draft laws which outline for the first time how ministers plan to enforce the new regime.

Critics point out that mileage readings can involve large numbers and that mistakes by drivers or MOT centres while submitting them could be made, potentially leading to innocent drivers getting a knock at the door.

According to a House of Commons Library report quietly published two weeks ago, ministers are planning to include the draft laws in the upcoming Finance Bill as part of other measures announced in the Budget later this month.

Tory shadow transport minister Greg Smith said of the draft law: 'Labour's electric car tax comes with a shocking little extra – the right for inspectors to turn up at your home and poke around your car.

'Labour wants to tax every mile you drive and give inspectors sweeping powers to enter premises, inspect your car and drive it away.

'Labour's war on drivers has gone into overdrive. This is Big Brother with a clipboard and a set of car keys. Conservatives will always stand up for drivers.'

Josie Appleton, director of the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life, which campaigns against draconian regulations, added: 'Why does every new policy come with powers for officials to enter your home and/or seize your property?

'This is little more than another power grab by the state.'

Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, said: 'Raiding people's homes over mileage readings is pure Big Brother madness.

'Police shouldn't be acting as Labour's mileage enforcers while real criminals walk free.

'This pay‑per‑mile scheme is draconian, intrusive and a blatant escalation of the war on drivers.

'It's yet another heavy‑handed attack on motorists from a government obsessed with control and grabbing even more cash from the highest taxed drivers in the world.'

Labour's pay-per-mile scheme has already sparked controversy after it emerged motorists will still have to pay the new tax when driving abroad, even though they wouldn't be using British roads.

Ministers claim charging drivers for overseas mileage while holidaying in countries such as France is proportionate because not doing so would require the use of location data to show where they were – raising further privacy concerns.

The new pay-per-mile levy was first announced by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last year's Autumn Budget and sparked fury because drivers have been urged to buy non-carbon emission capable cars by ministers in a bid to hit Net Zero targets.

But it will take time to implement and to pass new laws to create the enforcement regime, meaning it isn't scheduled to come into force until April 2028.

The draft new laws do not contain the words 'warrant', 'notice' or 'reasonable time' – suggesting officers can turn up unannounced – or set a distance limit on where a car owner can be required to move the car for inspection.

Obstructing an examiner or police officer – or refusing to move or stay with the car – will become a criminal offence.

Pay-per-mile is being introduced to plug the black hole in the public finances that is emerging as fewer motorists pay Fuel Duty on petrol and diesel because of switching to hybrid and full electric vehicles.

Fuel Duty raised around £25billion for the government last year, which helps pay for schools, hospitals and other public services.

Because it is effectively paid at the pumps, there's no need for checks by officials on whether drivers have paid it.

But this will change under pay-per-mile as drivers will need to submit their odometer reading once a year to calculate the bill owed to HMRC, opening up the possibility of fraudulent readings being submitted to lower road tax bills.

In addition to Fuel Duty, the existing VED scheme raises around a further £9billion a year for the Treasury, which is facing growing calls to cut Fuel Duty in this month's Budget amid sky-high pump prices sparked by the Iran war.

The Treasury and Department for Transport were contacted for comment.