The latest list of outstanding congestion charge payments owed by overseas embassies based in London has topped £143 million, as of September 2023, 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 six months.
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 depends on the government to act 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 since the congestion charge was introduced in February 2003. Until it’s resolved, TfL will publish updates every six months, and the debt figure will keep rising.
Outstanding congestion charges at the end of September 2023
| American Embassy | £14,644,755 |
| Embassy of Japan | £10,064,538 |
| Office of the High Commissioner for India | £8,549,945 |
| High Commission for the Federal Republic of Nigeria | £8,390,465 |
| Embassy of the People`s Republic of China | £7,935,270 |
| Embassy of the Russian Federation | £5,996,025 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Poland | £5,267,500 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Ghana | £4,995,255 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan | £4,651,405 |
| Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany | £4,630,140 |
| The Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan | £3,941,420 |
| Kenya High Commission | £3,256,980 |
| High Commission for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan | £3,119,430 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Korea | £2,626,870 |
| Embassy of France | £2,543,100 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Cuba | £2,465,700 |
| High Commission for the United Republic of Tanzania | £2,285,660 |
| Embassy of Spain | £2,189,670 |
| Embassy of Algeria | £2,182,320 |
| High Commission for the Republic of South Africa | £1,975,280 |
| Sierra Leone High Commission | £1,915,575 |
| Embassy of Romania | £1,865,920 |
| Embassy of Ukraine | £1,671,220 |
| Embassy of Greece | £1,660,860 |
| Turkish Embassy | £1,577,560 |
| Cyprus High Commission | £1,424,640 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Hungary | £1,374,510 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Zambia | £1,146,050 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Yemen | £1,055,730 |
| Botswana High Commission | £954,930 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria | £920,090 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Mozambique | £864,360 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Malawi | £838,025 |
| Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia | £822,820 |
| Uganda High Commission | £812,810 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Zimbabwe | £800,015 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Côte d`Ivoire | £784,740 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Cameroon | £759,840 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Belarus | £733,285 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Namibia | £726,550 |
| Malta High Commission | £716,525 |
| Embassy of the Slovak Republic | £691,720 |
| Mauritius High Commission | £672,155 |
| Embassy of Belgium | £667,230 |
| High Commission for the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
£653,730 |
| Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco | £651,790 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania | £650,685 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Liberia | £627,150 |
| Embassy of Austria | £626,650 |
| Kingdom of Swaziland High Commission | £620,540 |
| Embassy of the Islamic State of Afghanistan | £606,650 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea | £557,690 |
| High Commission of the Kingdom of Lesotho | £532,840 |
| Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam | £518,550 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Guinea | £501,250 |
| Embassy of the Democratic Republic of Congo | £485,940 |
| Embassy of the Czech Republic | £480,910 |
| Embassy Of The Republic Of Iraq | £473,760 |
| Jamaican High Commission | £473,020 |
| Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan | £417,990 |
| Royal Danish Embassy | £404,015 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia | £384,830 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Latvia | £346,190 |
| High Commission for Antigua And Barbuda | £346,155 |
| Embassy of Portugal | £325,510 |
| Embassy of Luxembourg | £321,095 |
| Tunisian Embassy | £294,820 |
| Belize High Commission | £280,860 |
| Embassy of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | £276,320 |
| Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt | £243,820 |
| Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan | £243,590 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Estonia | £219,050 |
| Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia | £211,210 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Maldives | £204,470 |
| High Commission for Guyana | £187,030 |
| Embassy of the State of Eritrea | £185,350 |
| High Commission for Seychelles | £169,935 |
| Embassy of the Dominican Republic | £164,650 |
| Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines | £157,360 |
| Kingdom of Eswatini High Commission | £155,810 |
| Embassy of Tunisia | £152,310 |
| Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania | £144,350 |
| Embassy of El Salvador | £129,805 |
| High Commission for Saint Lucia | £127,550 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Albania | £124,480 |
| Embassy of the Kyrgyz Republic | £120,680 |
| The Embassy of the Republic of Moldova | £114,310 |
| Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina | £99,760 |
| The Gambia High Commission | £97,900 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Senegal | £95,025 |
| High Commission for Grenada | £80,030 |
| Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran | £79,700 |
| Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman | £73,770 |
| Embassy of Kosovo | £61,100 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Gabon | £48,540 |
| Embassy of the State of Qatar | £48,360 |
| The Embassy of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic | £48,260 |
| Embassy of Tajikistan | £43,580 |
| Embassy of Georgia | £34,680 |
| Embassy of Guatemala | £32,280 |
| High Commission for the People`s Republic of Bangladesh | £30,810 |
| Libyan Embassy | £29,950 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Tajikistan | £19,220 |
| Royal Thai Embassy | £18,430 |
| Embassy of Honduras | £18,110 |
| Embassy of Italy | £17,770 |
| Benin Consulate | £17,740 |
| Embassy of the United Arab Emirates | £17,730 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar | £17,200 |
| Embassy of Nicaragua | £16,880 |
| 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 | £5,870 |
| Embassy of the State of Kuwait | £5,810 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia | £5,690 |
| High Commission of the Republic of Fiji | £4,620 |
| 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 | £2,690 |
| 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 | £1,770 |
| Embassy of Haiti | £1,600 |
| Colombian Embassy | £1,560 |
| Embassy of the Argentine Republic | £1,530 |
| High Commission for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | £1,520 |
| Embassy of Slovakia | £1,460 |
| Embassy of Iceland | £1,460 |
| Central African Republic | £970 |
| High Commission for the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | £960 |
| Embassy of Peru | £800 |
| Australian High Commission | £760 |
| Embassy of the State of Bahrain | £720 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Croatia | £610 |
| Tonga High Commission | £610 |
| High Commission for Saint Christopher And Nevis | £600 |
| Brunei Darussalam High Commission | £520 |
| Embassy of Israel | £370 |
| Embassy of Paraguay | £320 |
| The Royal Embassy of Cambodia | £250 |
| Embassy of Costa Rica | £160 |
| Royal Norwegian Embassy | £160 |
| High Commission for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas | £160 |
| Embassy of Turkmenistan | £130 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Macedonia | £130 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Panama | £130 |
| The High Commission for the Commonwealth of Dominica | £120 |
| Embassy of Finland | £120 |
| Embassy of the Republic of Togo | £40 |
| Total Embassy Debt | £143,260,223 |
Are they still flogging this dead horse?
Do any embassies actually pay it?
Yes.
Looks like New Zealand does.
Send in the bailiffs. That’s what they do to the ‘little’ people.
Not sure if it’s related, but there’s a similar problem with expensive looking cars registered to diplomats with deliberately-defective silencers being driven in a manner that causes severe nuisance.
Councils seem to have solved the problem of noisy and unlicenced pedal cabs. It’s time they found a way of ridding the streets of deliberately-defective diplomat cars.
Why do some nations that have very little relevance, political interaction or business ties with the UK, ie Kazakhstan, Sudan, Sierra Leone have such high charges? The Sierra Leone high commission is a literally tiny crummy building in Holborn, what business do they have driving around so much? How have they managed to rack up such enormous debt?
Poorer corrupt nations handing diplomatic plates to non-diplomats within the UK? Could someone explain what the situation is?
I wonder if any of the British embassies are guilty of the non-payment of equivalent charges in any other country. One would sort of hope that our overseas embassies do the same in those countries that refuse to pay congestion charges in the UK.
Very few European countries on the list.
Do you even know what countries are in Europe?
Almost every country in Europe is on the list.
Sort of think it is actually embarrassing now from the Mayor of London, it is clearly a tax and embassies have no requirement, nor should they pay it.
except it’s not a tax. it’s clearly a charge and so not exempt for diplomats. Problem is extracting the cash from foreign governments.
The former Mayor promised action yet failed to do anything about it even when he was in a position to rectify it as both Foreign Secretary and then Prime Minister.
How is it embarrassing for the mayor? As explained in the piece, it’s down to the govt to ask for payment from those that ignore the charge (not tax).
Well Embassy officials and Governments alike could show some forward thinking by changing their fleet to electric cars. Perhaps some could even encourage cycling to work….avoid the charge completely. It’s in place to encourage greener travel. I imagine all of these countries signed the COP agreeement.