Less than two weeks after leaving the European Union (EU), theU.K. is already back in trouble with the bloc.

While Brexit day was meant to enable Britain to finally throwoff the shackles of the Brussels bureaucracy, the U.K. governmentnow finds itself having to answer questions over an obscuretransport tax that the EU doesn't like. It's a dispute that has thepotential to end up in court.

It's a stark reminder that although the country technicallyended its 47-year membership in the EU on January 31, a transitionperiod that extends throughout 2020 means it's still bound by thebloc's rules and jurisdiction. While Britain doesn't get a say inany decisions or policymaking, EU law applies in full.

A levy that the U.K. introduced for heavy goods vehicles in 2014discriminates against foreign truck drivers because British driverscan be refunded for the tax they pay, the European Commission saidon Wednesday in a statement. That goes against the EU's philosophyof treating citizens from all of its countries equally.

So while the right to give preferential treatment to Britishnationals was one of the cornerstones of the Brexit debate, thatpower will have to wait.

The commission said the U.K. has two months to notify it ofchanges to the way the tax works or face the prospect of beingtaken to EU courts.

The bloc's executive arm regularly takes action against itsmember countries for breaches of EU law, with about one in 10ending up in the EU's Court of Justice.

Copyright 2020 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.