Phasing Out Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles - Ex-gratia Payment Scheme

 

Important Notice

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced on 6 October 2022 and 17 April 2023 the special arrangements to extend the deadlines for ex-gratia payment application for phasing out Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles first registered in 2007 and 2008 for one year to 31 December 2023 and 31 December 2024, respectively.

The EPD reminds the concerned vehicle owners that approval of the ex-gratia payment is still subject to the applicant meeting all other prevailing eligibility criteria and completing all necessary procedures under the ex-gratia payment scheme, and submitting the application for the ex-gratia payment by the deadlines below, even if the expiry date of the vehicle licence is beyond the application deadline:

First Registration Year	2007	2008
Deadline for ex-gratia payment application	31 December 2023	31 December 2024

 

Moreover, in accordance with the Air Pollution Control (Air Pollutant Emission)(Controlled Vehicles) Regulation (Cap. 311X), the Government will stop issuing/renewing vehicle licences to Euro IV DCVs first registered in 2007 and 2008 after 31 December 2022 and 31 December  2023 respectively as shown in the following table. The vehicle owners concerned who need to apply for vehicle licence renewal after the deadlines shall apply to EPD for exemption under Section 6 of the Regulation for extending the retirement deadline.

First Registration Year	2007	2008
The date after which exemption is required for vehicle licence renewal for extending the retirement deadline.	31 December 2022	31 December 2023

 

I. Background

To continuously improve roadside air quality, the Government launched in October 2020 an incentive-cum-regulatory programme (“the Programme”) to progressively phase out about 40 000 Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles (“DCVs”) (which include goods vehicles, light buses and non-franchised buses) by the end of 2027.

Under the Programme, Euro IV DCVs are categorized into different groups according to their first registration dates (Table 1).  The Government will cease issuing vehicle licences for respective groups of Euro IV DCVs after their specified deadlines for cancelling the vehicle registration (Table 2).  An ex-gratia payment will be offered to eligible vehicle owners provided that specified application criteria and procedures are fulfilled.

Besides, to help achieving the goals of zero vehicular emissions and carbon neutrality before 2050 in Hong Kong, the Government has been implementing a series of measures to encourage the vehicle owners of conventional fuel-propelled commercial vehicles to switch to electric ones. For details, please visit:

https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/promotion_ev/promotion_ev.html

 

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II. Air Pollution Control (Air Pollutant Emission)(Controlled Vehicles) Regulation ("The Regulation")

The Regulation has set out the phasing out deadlines for Euro IV DCVs.  The Government will stop issuing licences to Euro IV DCVs after the deadlines for cancelling the vehicle registration as set out in Table 2, unless they can comply with the emission standards applicable to a DCV of the same class seeking first registration on the date of the vehicle licence application.

DCVs which were first registered on a date within the period as specified in Table 1 but on the date of first registration had complied with Euro V emission standards are categorised as Excluded Vehicles and are not required to be phased out in the Regulation. Vehicle owners of Excluded Vehicles who would like to apply for licence after the deadlines for cancelling the vehicle registration are required to submit proof of the design emission standards of their vehicles (such as documents issued by vehicle manufacturers) to the EPD for verification.

• Application Form for Verification of Excluded Vehicles 

 

Owners of these Excluded Vehicles can also choose to scrap and cancel the registration of their vehicles on or before the deadlines specified in Table 2 and then apply for the ex-gratia payment.

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III. The Ex-gratia Payment Scheme for Phasing out Euro IV DCVs ("the Scheme")

Registered owners of eligible Euro IV DCVs (including Excluded Vehicles) who intend to apply for the ex-gratia payment under the Scheme have to arrange for their vehicles to be scrapped and de-registered within the period between 19 October 2020 and the vehicles’ respective deadlines for cancelling the vehicle registration (both dates inclusive), which are set out in Table 2.

The amounts of ex-gratia payment for different classes/types of Euro IV DCVs are set out in Table 4.  The amounts inversely correlate with the age of the vehicles and remain the same throughout the Scheme period.

For an eligible Euro IV DCV (including Excluded Vehicles), its body type (for DCVs other than single deck non-franchised buses) or body type and passenger seating capacity (for single deck non-franchised buses) stated in its vehicle registration document as at 1 January 2020 will be taken in calculating the amount of ex-gratia payment.

 

 

Eligibility Criteria

The vehicle under application and the applicant must meet the following requirements:

1. the first registration date of the vehicle shall fall within the dates specified in Table 1;
2. the vehicle is registered as a DCV (i.e. goods vehicle, light bus or non-franchised bus running on diesel) or has applied for re-registration as a DCV as of 1 January 2020;
3. the vehicle has had a valid vehicle licence on or after 1 January 2020;
4. the vehicle is a DCV on the day of cancellation of its registration;
5. the vehicle is scrapped on or after 19 October 2020 by a vehicle scrapping company registered under the ex-gratia payment scheme;
6. after the vehicle is scrapped, the registration of the vehicle is cancelled ^{Note 1} on or before the deadline set out in Table 2; and
7. the applicant for the ex-gratia payment is the registered owner of the vehicle when its registration is cancelled.

 

 

Application Procedures

The applicant shall follow the steps below to apply for the ex-gratia payment:

1. Within the period between 19 October 2020 and the respective deadline for cancelling the vehicle registration (both dates inclusive),
   1. arrange for the scrapping of his / her Euro IV DCV by a vehicle scrapping company registered under the Scheme; and
   2. notify the Transport Department (“TD”) of such scrapping by submitting a completed form TD 184 or form TD 129 if the vehicle owner intends to retain the vehicle registration mark ^{Note 1}, together with the relevant original vehicle scrapping certificate issued by the registered vehicle scrapping company for cancelling the vehicle’s registration; and

2. Within three months after the vehicle’s registration is cancelled (inclusive of date of de-registration), submit an application for ex-gratia payment to the TD via a completed form TD 605B ^{Note 2} together with a photo showing the vehicle's unique chassis number taken by the registered vehicle scrapping company before the vehicle is scrapped. 

Note 1:

The cancellation of vehicle registration is not automatic after the DCV is scrapped.  The vehicle owner has to apply for the cancellation of registration of his / her scrapped vehicle at one of the TD’s Licensing Offices.  For the avoidance of doubt, the vehicle owner should complete the cancellation of registration of his / her scrapped vehicle on or before the deadline specified in Table 2 of his / her DCV so as to be eligible for the ex-gratia payment.

Note 2: The applicant can submit the application for ex-gratia payment by the following means:

• via drop-in boxes located at the four Licensing Offices of the TD;
• by post to Hong Kong Licensing Office, Transport Department (Address: 3/F United Centre, 95 Queensway, Hong Kong) (the application submission date would be the date as indicated by the postmark); 
• in person or by agent to Counter Number 1 of Hong Kong Licensing Office, Transport Department during office hours; or
• by email* to epu@td.gov.hk (*: For applications submitted by email, preliminary vetting of the application will be conducted and approval-in-principle will be granted if the application is eligible and in order. Payment of the ex-gratia payment will be granted after the applicant or his / her representative submits the original application form to the TD for verification).

 

 

Requirements of Application

The Government reserves the right to reject an application on the grounds that the applicant has engaged, is engaging, or is reasonably believed to have engaged or be engaging in acts or activities that are likely to cause or constitute the occurrence of offences endangering national security or otherwise the exclusion is necessary in the interest of national security, or is necessary to protect the public interest of Hong Kong, public morals, public order or public safety.

 

Special Arrangement

A special arrangement is implemented to allow the owners of “DCVs which were originally designed as Euro IV DCVs but were first registered on a date beyond the period as specified in Table 1 and classified as Euro V DCVs” to choose to scrap and cancel the registration of their vehicles within the period between 19 October 2020 and the last deadline for cancelling the vehicle registration (i.e. 31 December 2027) (both dates inclusive) and apply for the ex-gratia payment within three months after the vehicles’ registrations are cancelled (inclusive of date of de-registration) provided that all the eligibility criteria (except criterion 1) for Euro IV DCVs are met.  Vehicle owners of this category of DCVs who would like to apply for the ex-gratia payment are required to submit proof of the design emission standards of their vehicles (such as documents issued by vehicle manufacturers) to the EPD for approval before scrapping their vehicles.

• Application Form for Exemption of Eligibility Criterion 1 

 

 

Registered Vehicle Scrapping Companies

The EPD has compiled a list of vehicle scrapping companies registered under the Scheme.

• Information of the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Companies under the Ex-gratia Payment Scheme for Phasing Out Euro IV DCVs(List of RVSCs) 

 

Eligible vehicle owners who intend to apply for the ex-gratia payment should check the latest list to identify a registered vehicle scrapping company for scrapping their vehicles and ensure that the chosen vehicle scrapping company is still on the list on the date of scrapping.

Starting from 18 September 2020, vehicle scrapping companies can apply to the EPD for registration under the Scheme.

• Application for registration as a registered vehicle scrapping company under the Scheme​

 

 

Table 1 to 4

Table 1       Table 2       Table 3       Table 4
 

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Example

Euro IV DCV to be phased out:
•    Class: Medium Goods Vehicles 
•    Body Type in vehicle registration document as at 1 January 2020: Pantechnicon (TL)
•    Permitted gross vehicle weight: 16 tonnes
•    First registration date: 28 October 2006
•    Planned date to notify the TD of scrapping of the vehicle for cancellation of the vehicle registration: 6 September 2021
 
Q1: Is my vehicle above covered by the Scheme?  If so, what are the date from which vehicle licence will not be issued and the ex-gratia payment application deadline?

A: The vehicle is covered by the Scheme.  The vehicle licence for the vehicle will not be issued from 1 January 2022.  The registered owner should scrap the vehicle and de-register the vehicle on or before 31 December 2021, and submit an application for ex-gratia payment to the TD within three months after cancellation of vehicle registration (i.e. since the planned date to cancel the vehicle registration is 6 September 2021, the application deadline is 5 December 2021 for this case).  The diagram below illustrates how this information can be checked from Table 1 and Table 2 of this leaflet.
 
Extract from Table 1       Dates of First Registration of Euro IV DCVs covered by the Programme

 

Extract from Table 2       Deadlines for Cancelling the Vehicle Registration of Euro IV DCVs covered by the Scheme

 

 

Q2: What is the ex-gratia payment amount?

A: The scrapped vehicle is 14 years and 10 months old if the vehicle registration is cancelled on 6 September 2021 (thus counted as 14 years).  The ex-gratia payment amount for this vehicle is HK$228,300. The diagrams below illustrate how this information can be checked from Table 3 and Table 4 of this leaflet.

Extract from Table 3       Classification of Body Type of Goods Vehicles under the Scheme

 

Extract from Table 4       Amount of Ex-gratia Payment

 

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IV. Statistics of Ex-gratia Payment Applications

 

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V. FAQs

• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

 

 

 

VI. Enquiry

Please contact the following departments for enquiries:

 

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