marked mineral oil Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

Forecourt owners could be forced to pay duty difference for customers’ green diesel misuse

Linda Stewart — Thu, 31 Mar 2022 15:12:26 +0000

Forecourt owners could be forced to pay the difference in duty if they inadvertently sell green diesel to a customer who then uses it for an inappropriate purpose.

Irish Tax and Customs sent out the warning in a letter to forecourt owners across Ireland this week, sparking consternation that fuel businesses could be fined for their customers’ misdeeds.

Marked Mineral oil is subject to a lower rate of tax, and is supposed to be used for agricultural vehicles.

With the rising cost of diesel at the moment, Revenue warned that there is potential for an increased risk of use of marked diesel in private motor vehicles.

The letter cite Regulation 24(1) of the Mineral Oil Tax Regulations 2012, which states:

“24(1) Where a mineral oil trader supplies marked gas oil or marked kerosene at the premises of place of that mineral trader –

(a) to another mineral oil trader for consignment by that other mineral oil trader, or

(b) to a person other than a mineral oil trader, in a quantity not exceeding 2,000 litres and not for delivery to any other person, the supplying mineral oil trader shall keep a record, showing all the information relevant to that supply that is required under Regulation 23(4).

“Where the records required to be kept in accordance with Regulation 23(4) (Customers’s Name, Address and, where applicable, VAT Registration Number ) under the Mineral Oil Tax Regulation. cannot be supplied when requested, then, in accordance with Section 99 (10) Finance Act 2001, you may be liable to pay additional excise duty based on the difference between the lower rebated rate applied to marked mineral oil and the higher standard rate applied to unmarked mineral oil.”

One forecourt owner branded the warning ‘grossly unfair’ and said fuel retailers whose customers found loopholes to fill up with green diesel illegally could end up taking the hit.

For example, those who had installed OPT pumps that run 24 hours a day may not be present at night to inform customers of the rules before they fill up or to take their details as required by the Revenue.

“It’s a grey area. Our job is to run the business outside, but the Revenue can come after us for the difference if somebody buys it and doesn’t use it for what they’re supposed to,” the forecourt owner said.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty because the Revenue has not notified the general public that this is happening.

“They could have done this in s different way, such as running a campaign in the newspapers and on the radio for the general public that if they put in green diesel when they shouldn’t there will be consequences. They could have approached this better – this is grossly unfair.”

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Over €1 million spent on diesel laundering cleanup in Louth and Monaghan since 2018

Linda Stewart — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 09:54:14 +0000

The clean-up bill for diesel laundering in Louth and Monaghan over the last four years has cost the State over €1 million.

Figures released by the Department of Environment show the total cleanup cost of diesel laundering in both counties was €1,127,726.

At least €837,919 has been spent by Louth County Council on cleaning up dumped sludge since 2018.

Since 2018, Revenue have detected seven fuel laundering plants in both Louth and Monaghan, and have seized a total of 83,500 litres of laundered diesel. Four of these plants were located in Louth while three were in Monaghan.

In 2021, there were a total of 62 incidents of diesel laundering detected in both counties, according to the Department of the Environment. Of these, 39 took place in Louth while another 23 took place in Monaghan.

Diesel laundering is the process of washing out a green dye that is placed in rebated green fuel, or marked mineral oil, to make it colourless.

The process is carried out using a bleaching agent and leaves a residue within the fuel, which can solidify when heated in an engine and cause serious damage to the internal workings of a car.

According to Revenue, the difference in the rate of tax is high. The Mineral Oil Tax (MOT) on diesel is €535,46 per 1,000 litres, while it is €138.17 on marked mineral oil, meaning those selling agricultural diesel can profit from the difference of almost 40 cent per litre of fuel.

Within the process of laundering diesel, a sludge is created that is typically dumped and left for local authorities to dispose of.

Revenue says that their current strategy around combating fuel laundering works around supply chain reporting, a monitoring system for retailers and suppliers, tightening fuel licensing and the power to revoke or refuse licences.

In 2015 Accutrace S10 was introduced – a colourless marker that has chemical properties similar to that of diesel that makes it resistant to conventional dye-washing techniques.

This compound is required to be added to any supply of reduced rate fuel, in addition to other dyes, in both Ireland and the UK.

The Department of Environment, Climate & Communications said the sludge can cause “significant hydrocarbon contamination” in soils and that it can also contaminate groundwater.

“Furthermore, the acidic waste generated from other materials in this illegal process and left abandoned by diesel launderers such as sulphuric acid wash, contaminated absorbent and bleaching earth sludge is hazardous waste,” the spokesperson added.

“The illegal deposition of waste material arising from diesel laundering activities presents local authorities with major difficulties, as the task of cleaning up the material needs to be dealt with to avoid threats to the environment.”

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