(1) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter and any regulations thereunder, with effect on and from the 1st day of January, 1993, a duty of excise, to be called vehicle registration tax, shall be charged, levied and paid at whichever of the rates specified in subsection (3) is appropriate on -

(a) the registration of a vehicle, and

(b) a declaration under section 131(3).

(2) Vehicle registration tax shall become due and be paid at the time of the registration of a vehicle or the making of the declaration under section 131(3), as may be appropriate, by -

(a) an authorised person in accordance with section 136(5)(b),

(b) the person who registers the vehicle,

(c) the person who has converted the vehicle where the prescribed particulars in relation to the conversion have not been declared to the Commissioners in accordance with section 131(3),