FLEET managers for two of Britain's largest pharmaceutical companies have attacked the damaging effect of changes to company car tax next year. Audrey Milne, group fleet manager for Bayer, and Lee Corrigan, fleet manager for Pharmacia, claim a lack of support and advice is leading to a huge increase in their workload.

Corrigan, who runs a fleet of about 650 cars, has attacked the leasing industry for failing to provide enough support to fleets, and says the Inland Revenue has not backed its planned benefit-in-kind tax changes with sufficient support and advice. The Inland Revenue has asked fleets to submit carbon dioxide emission figures for every business car they run, adding to the fleet manager's workload.

Corrigan said fleets had either to get tough with contract hire suppliers to provide this information, or rethink their approach to company cars. 'P11D season is a demanding time for any car fleet, and the thought of trying to collate CO2 figures sends shivers down my spine,' he added. 'You should make your leasing company do the work for you. But I am not waiting for April 2002 to change my car fleet and say farewell to P11ds and P46s.'

Milne, group fleet manager for Bayer, who runs 1,200 vehicles with three full-time staff and one part-time, complained that the Inland Revenue's call for fleets to provide CO2 figures on vehicles was almost impossible. She added: 'Why should I have to do this and pay someone at our company's expense, when the Inland Revenue should have arranged to have this information on registration documents sooner? It has known long enough that it was going to require this information.'