Refunds
Refunds of road user charges may be payable in a variety of circumstances, for example:
- unused distance due to hubodometer change
- when distance is travelled off the public roads
- when a vehicle is permanently destroyed, exported or its registration cancelled .
The following provision relates to distance licences only:
Unused distance due to hubodometer change
If an unexpired licence has been replaced due to a change of hubodometer, be sure your refund application includes the hubodometer reading at the time the hubodometer was found to be unserviceable. If the hubodometer is lost or stolen, include a calculated estimate of what the reading would have been at the time of loss or theft.
Unserviceable hubodometers must be kept for a period of three months. Applications for refunds should be made as soon as a replacement licence has been purchased and the licence label returned with a change of hubodometer form (RUCHO) which is available from RUC agents or from the RUC Contact Centre .
When distance is travelled off the public roads
You can apply for a refund of any distance travelled off the public roads.
Apply using a RUCOR application form .
Off-road travel should be claimed as each licence expires, but must be claimed within two years of the issue date of the road user charges licence which is the subject of the claim.
Claims should be posted to the NZ Transport Agency, RUC Refunds and Administration, Private Bag 11777, Palmerston North 4442.
Vehicle operators must keep records of all distances travelled off-road. An officer authorised by the NZ Transport Agency may require access to these records in order to be satisfied as to the validity of an application. Records of off-road travel must be retained for a period of two years from the date of application for a refund. There is no criteria for the type of records that must be kept, however, an officer must be satisfied as to where and when the distance was travelled. An authorised officer may take extracts from or make copies of any books or records kept. They may also require verification of any information contained in books or records produced.
When a vehicle is permanently destroyed, exported or cancelled
Refunds may be granted after the vehicle’s registration has been cancelled.
To cancel the vehicle’s registration, complete an application to cancel registration (MR15) transaction at a Transport Agency agent, together with the vehicle’s number plates. The MR15 requires the current reading of your distance recorder (odometer or hubodometer) to be recorded at the time the vehicle is cancelled.