According to Karan Ridgard, operations director of Chevin Fleet Solutions, there is a multitude of documentation that needs to be updated, including vehicle purchase or hire, as well as fuel, maintenance, parts and servicing, with fleets facing penalties for late filing and making of payments.

Commenting on the pitfalls faced, Karan said: 'When any new legislation or policy is planned or introduced, fleet managers should be closely examining how it will effect operations, to ensure compliance and avoid unnecessary expense.

'Although we had to overcome the same challenge earlier in the year, many fleets will still be caught out by the VAT increase, which will result in a blow to the budget when the year has barely begun. To make matters worse, if VAT returns are filed late, and/or done so incorrectly, organisations will be looking at paying a fee of 2-5% of the due amount.'

Karan concluded: 'It is easy to make small mistakes when it comes to legislation changes, but they can come at significant financial cost to the business. The only way to consistently avoid such expense is to ensure your fleet management application is capable of effortlessly integrating new data into existing systems.'