Northern Ireland drivers are set to benefit from a years extension on their MOT exemptions due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic in NI.
Infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon has said today that it would not be possible to accomodate the backlog of MOT tests as well as conduct business as normal at test centres.
Nichola Mallon has stated…
I have decided the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) will continue to issue temporary exemption certificates (TECs) to those vehicles, private cars, goods vehicles, trailers or motorcycles until their normal MOT date.
This means a vehicle will get an exemption for one year which will bring it back into the system when there is capacity to test it.
She also stated that drivers will now apply for their MOT as normal next year.
Customers will no longer have to book a test that they know they will never attend and pay over money only for it to be returned to them in a refund some weeks later
Should the current lockdown restrictions continue, Ms Mallon has also stated that the DVA could potentially lose £8.6 million in revenue from MOT testing fees.
Drivers have also been urged to remember that they are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of their vehicles to keep them in a roadworthy condition.
This comes after an already difficult year for the DVA after cracks discovered in vehicles lifts late last year forced the cancellation of thousands of MOT tests in January.
You can. keep up-to-date on all the latest DVA developments on the NIDirect website.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-and-motoring
