POLICE are to be given new powers to raid homes and premises of EV drivers suspected of dodging a new car tax.
Under the law, cops will also be able to “detain” family cars “for such time as is required to inspect or test it”.
It is being introduced to regulate pay-per-mile, also known as electric Vehicle Excise Duty (eVED).
This is an across-the-board charge that is coming into effect for hybrid and electric car owners from April 2028.
It was first announced by former Rachel Reeves, then the Chancellor, in last year’s Autumn Budget.
Motorists will be charged at 1.5p a mile for hybrid vehicles and 3p for fully electric cars.
Drivers will have to submit their mileage readings from the vehicle’s odometer at the end of each year under the new scheme.
The data will then be cross-checked with figures from the car’s annual MOT to flag any potential fraudulent reporting of mileage.
Obstructing an examiner or police officer – or refusing to move or stay with the car – will become a criminal offence.
Howard Cox, founder of the FairFuelUK campaign, told the Daily Mail: “Raiding people’s homes over mileage readings is pure Big Brother madness.”
Josie Appleton, director of the Campaign for Freedom in Everyday Life, described the new law as a “power grab by the state”.
A spokesman for the Government said the new police powers would “rarely be used due to safeguards being introduced, such as using MOTs to check user supplied mileage readings”.