The latest list of outstanding congestion charge payments owed by overseas embassies based in London has topped £142 million, as of June 2022, having risen from £136 million at the end of September 2021.
Congestion charge sign at Fairchild Place, Shoreditch
Although the congestion charge is applied to road vehicles entering the congestion zone, many embassies argue that it’s not a charge but a tax, and embassies are exempt from paying domestic taxes under the terms of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Transport for London (TfL) disagrees and maintains a list of outstanding debts due on its website, that’s updated every 6 months.
Some embassies accept the charge is not a tax, and by 2008 the majority of the 128 embassies based in London had agreed to pay the fees, although a number of them have since changed their minds. For example, in 2006, the UAE agreed to pay its outstanding fees, but in 2022, it had built up a fresh debt of £17,680 once more.
The most egregious non-payer is the USA, with outstanding fees of £14.6 million as of the end of June 2022. Although the US Embassy moved to Nine Elms in late 2017 and is now outside the congestion charge zone, its drivers still head into town on a regular basis, so they keep getting hit with unpaid bills.
Part of the difficulty for TfL is that they can’t sue a diplomatic mission to recover the outstanding fees. Only the central government can trigger proceedings against international embassies, so TfL is dependent on the government to take action on its behalf. According to a written statement from the Mayor of London, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials write to diplomatic missions and international organisations with large Congestion Charge debts annually, to encourage payment.
Of course, the embassies have been ignoring the letters ever since the congestion charge was introduced back in February 2003. Until it’s resolved, TfL will be publishing updates every 6-months and the debt figure will keep on rising.
Paul Cowperthwaite, TfL’s General Manager for Road User Charging, said: “We are clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a tax. This means that foreign diplomats are not exempt from paying it.
“We continue to pursue all unpaid Congestion Charge fees and related penalty charge notices.”
Outstanding congestion charge at end of June 2022
| American Embassy | £14,598,455 |
| Embassy of Japan | £10,005,130 |
| Office of the High Commissioner for India | £8,503,745 |
| High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria | £8,334,925 |
| Embassy of the People`s Republic of China | £7,901,400 |
| Embassy of the Russian Federation | £5,983,865 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Poland | £5,237,120 |
| Office of the High Commissioner for Ghana | £4,757,935 |
| Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany | £4,615,010 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan | £4,603,465 |
| The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan | £3,501,110 |
| Kenya High Commission | £3,247,480 |
| High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan | £3,066,430 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Korea | £2,593,800 |
| Embassy of France | £2,531,410 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Cuba | £2,446,640 |
| High Commission for the United Republic of Tanzania | £2,280,830 |
| Embassy of Spain | £2,160,120 |
| Embassy of Algeria | £2,142,190 |
| High Commission for the Republic of South Africa | £1,963,600 |
| Sierra Leone High Commission | £1,903,615 |
| Embassy of Romania | £1,854,840 |
| Embassy of Ukraine | £1,663,590 |
| Embassy of Greece | £1,655,970 |
| Turkish Embassy | £1,544,880 |
| Cyprus High Commission | £1,408,630 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Hungary | £1,360,520 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Zambia | £1,143,730 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Yemen | £1,052,860 |
| Botswana High Commission | £951,880 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria | £916,630 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Mozambique | £859,840 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Malawi | £823,985 |
| Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | £818,070 |
| Uganda High Commission | £797,740 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Zimbabwe | £788,265 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Côte d`Ivoire | £779,920 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon | £757,420 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Belarus | £732,325 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Namibia | £724,070 |
| Malta High Commission | £702,895 |
| Embassy of the Slovak Republic | £689,320 |
| Mauritius High Commission | £666,855 |
| Embassy of Belgium | £659,460 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania | £648,985 |
| High Commission for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka | £647,240 |
| Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco | £640,590 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Liberia | £625,150 |
| Embassy of Austria | £624,260 |
| Kingdom of Swaziland High Commission | £612,860 |
| Embassy of the Islamic State of Afghanistan | £602,160 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea | £557,530 |
| High Commission of the Kingdom of Lesotho | £527,080 |
| Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | £511,640 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Guinea | £499,570 |
| Embassy of the Czech Republic | £477,630 |
| Jamaican High Commission | £470,620 |
| Embassy of The Republic of Iraq | £465,980 |
| Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo | £427,280 |
| Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan | £425,270 |
| Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan | £415,990 |
| Royal Danish Embassy | £402,555 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia | £380,690 |
| High Commission for Antigua and Barbuda | £345,555 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Latvia | £345,550 |
| Embassy of Portugal | £323,800 |
| Embassy of Luxembourg | £316,275 |
| Tunisian Embassy | £291,140 |
| Belize High Commission | £279,730 |
| Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | £275,960 |
| Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt | £243,820 |
| Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | £238,310 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Estonia | £215,860 |
| Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia | £210,580 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Ghana | £200,560 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Maldives | £197,970 |
| Embassy of the State of Eritrea | £184,790 |
| High Commission for Guyana | £184,330 |
| High Commission for Seychelles | £169,935 |
| Embassy of the Dominican Republic | £164,650 |
| Kingdom of Eswatini High Commission | £155,810 |
| Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines | £152,040 |
| Embassy of Tunisia | £150,910 |
| Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania | £135,170 |
| Embassy of El Salvador | £129,645 |
| High Commission for Saint Lucia | £126,740 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Albania | £124,480 |
| Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic | £118,920 |
| The Embassy of the Republic of Moldova | £114,150 |
| Embassy of Bosnia And Herzegovina | £99,120 |
| The Gambia High Commission | £96,240 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Senegal | £92,785 |
| High Commission for Grenada | £80,030 |
| Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran | £78,340 |
| Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman | £73,530 |
| Embassy of Kosovo | £61,100 |
| Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo | £58,260 |
| Embassy of the State of Qatar | £48,260 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Gabon | £48,030 |
| The Embassy of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic | £45,920 |
| Embassy of Tajikistan | £42,580 |
| Embassy of Georgia | £34,680 |
| Embassy of Guatemala | £32,280 |
| High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh | £30,810 |
| Libyan Embassy | £29,770 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan | £19,040 |
| Royal Thai Embassy | £18,430 |
| Embassy of Honduras | £18,110 |
| Embassy of Italy | £17,740 |
| Benin Consulate | £17,730 |
| Embassy of the United Arab Emirates | £17,680 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar | £17,200 |
| Embassy of Nicaragua | £16,790 |
| Ambassade De La République Du Burundi | £14,660 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan | £12,900 |
| Embassy of Brazil | £11,750 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Angola | £10,090 |
| Malaysian High Commission | £8,990 |
| Embassy of the State of Kuwait | £5,810 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia | £5,690 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Fiji | £4,380 |
| Embassy of the Principality of Andorra | £4,040 |
| Embassy of Mongolia | £4,000 |
| Embassy of the Union of Myanmar | £3,900 |
| Barbados High Commission | £3,770 |
| Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic | £3,160 |
| Embassy of the Azerbaijan Republic | £3,080 |
| Embassy of Chile | £2,940 |
| Embassy of Cambodia | £2,780 |
| Canadian High Commission | £2,770 |
| Papua New Guinea High Commission | £2,400 |
| Embassy of Mexico | £2,160 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Serbia | £2,030 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda | £1,930 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Armenia | £1,600 |
| Embassy of Haiti | £1,560 |
| Colombian Embassy | £1,530 |
| Embassy of the Argentine Republic | £1,520 |
| Embassy of Slovakia | £1,460 |
| High Commission for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | £1,460 |
| Embassy of Iceland | £1,320 |
| Central African Republic | £970 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Trinidad And Tobago | £960 |
| Embassy of the State of Bahrain | £720 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Croatia | £610 |
| Australian High Commission | £600 |
| Brunei Darussalam High Commission | £600 |
| Tonga High Commission | £600 |
| Embassy of Peru | £480 |
| Embassy of Israel | £370 |
| High Commission for Saint Christopher and Nevis | £360 |
| Embassy of Paraguay | £320 |
| The Royal Embassy of Cambodia | £250 |
| Embassy of Costa Rica | £160 |
| High Commission for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas | £160 |
| Royal Norwegian Embassy | £160 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia | £130 |
| Embassy of Turkmenistan | £130 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Panama | £130 |
| Embassy of Finland | £120 |
| The High Commission for the Commonwealth of Dominica | £120 |
| New Zealand High Commission | £80 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Togo | £40 |
TFL if this was the small man a person with a family going to their everyday job you would suck the blood from them by sending bailiff to our home.
These embassies don’t pay tax.
But London tax payers with the tfl noose around our neck
Easy. Write it off against the Foreign Aid Budget.
I wasn’t aware that the UK offers foreign aid to the USA.
That £142m debt owed would provide much needed funds for TfL and perhaps the NHS who having to deal with the outfall of toxic emissions in relation to illness, earlier deaths and well, just deaths! They obviously never going to pay so how to reconcile? The offending vehicles clearly being picked up by number recognition so how about the vehicles impounded by the police (or traffic wardens?) and the embassies charged for release? The fee being equivalent to the cost of the vehicle. If they then choose to not pay and lose the vehicles these then sold at a pretty price. Some of the proceeds could be put towards the expense to the force, some to TfL, some to the NHS. It might even be the case that some vehicles impounded more than once so a win for London. In any case it might get them to start actually paying instead and providing the much-needed revenue they currently dodging. The other option of course is to get a government with a spine or at least a moral backbone…
1 none of this money would go to the NHS. Whilst the cumulative today is large that’s over a very long period. The annual lost income is a few millions
2 impounding diplomats cars here would lead to reprisals against UK diplomats abroad.
It would be interesting to compare the amounts owed to the staffing levels. Obviously, all the Americans drive everywhere. Surprised to see Canada on the list – I wonder if some of these small amounts are just cheque-lost-in-the-post.
If the Canadian High Commissioner needs to go to the Foreign Office they’d probably walk down Whitehall/
The American Ambassador would want a multi car motorcade.
This is definitely something Mayor Khan ought to react to! Its preposterous!
As the article points out, the Mayor doesn’t have the legal powers to react — so what are you proposing he does?
I would agree its a tax and the embassies should not have to pay. Also think it is an international embarrassment that Tfl seeks the money and records the running total, would like to know the cost in personal and time in Tfl doing this pointless exercise.
Considering that the congestion charge collection and reporting are automated, the amount of time expended by TfL to extract a specific report and put it on their website can likely be measured in minutes.
And I doubt many people would consider chasing for £142 million in unpaid debts to be a pointless exercise.