Arval has reported increased take-up of its consultancy series as fleets look to work through the implications of new tax regulations that take effect from April.

Fleets are looking for more advice on dealing with the headline changes including BiK.

According to the vehicle leasing and fleet management company, fleet stakeholders such as human resources and finance departments as well as fleet managers are looking for more advice on dealing with the headline changes – which affect Benefit in Kind for drivers entitled to a cash option or a company car, salary exchange schemes and vehicle excise duty.

Richard Cox, senior fleet consultant, commented: “The cash option question, for example, is one that is being pondered by many HR managers. There are several tricky issues to consider when making this decision, such as whether individual cash options represent a fair equivalent of a company car, the kind of vehicles that employees are choosing to buy with their cash allowance and more.”

The Vehicle Excise Duty changes, which completely alter the rules for what would previously have been considered low emissions vehicles, could also require expert help, Cox said.

“There are a number of questions arising from the new VED rates but perhaps the trickiest is that for cars registered after 1 April, only 0g/km models now attract a zero charge instead of those up to 100g/km, as at present. This could affect overall running costs and therefore some fleets are looking at repositioning their choice lists to reflect the change.

“These are issues that fleets are still working through and our consultants have been finding that, while sensible solutions can be found, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. It is a matter of sitting down with each and deciding on their individual priorities.”