Even as India concluded a trade deal with the United Kingdom, Indian diplomatic vehicles have racked up almost £10 million (₹115.8 crore) in unpaid dues and penalties for London’s congestion charge, a £15 daily fee applicable to all vehicles driving in parts of the British capital. At last count, in November 2024, according to a Parliamentary statement, Indian diplomatic vehicles owed £9,141,875 in penalty charge notices.

“We have been clear that the Congestion Charge is a charge for a service and not a form of tax that diplomats are exempt from paying,” Transport for London chief customer and strategy officer Alex Williams said in a letter to Indian High Commissioner Vikram Kumar Doraiswami last August. The letter was provided to The Hindu in response to a request under the U.K.’s Freedom of Information Act, 2000. 

While many diplomatic missions in London pay the fee, India, the U.S., and Japan have deemed the charge a tax, which diplomats are immune from paying under Article 34 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. 

In a subsequent letter in November, Mr. Williams said that “there are no legal grounds to exempt diplomatic missions and international organisations from the Congestion Charge, which [the U.K. Foreign Office views] as comparable to a parking fee or toll charge that they are required to pay.” TfL said in response to the FOI request that the Indian high commission has not responded to the letter. The Ministry of External Affairs did not respond to a query on the letters.

Aside from this, the U.K. also charges so-called National Non-Domestic Rates from commercial properties and diplomatic missions. As of November, India had an outstanding NNDR beneficial payment of £99,385. Unpaid parking fines were also recorded that amounted to £13,964. This information was provided to the U.K. Parliament by Catherine West, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Indo-Pacific. 

While the fees have been reiterated through diplomatic channels, they have not presented a serious obstacle to U.K.–India trade talks, which concluded with the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement that was signed on July 24.