Magic Fuel & Tax

Hi,

I have to thank you guys for giving me the low down on DERV alternatives, but I still have one or two (or three) questions which are bugging me:

1) Do the government tax fuels such as rapeseed oil and kero just like they tax vegetable oil?

2) How do I actually pay the tax to the government?

3) If I had a 50/50 mix of vegetable oil and diesel in my tank, can they tell?

Thanks in advance for any help!
-Pos

pos said:

Hi,

I have to thank you guys for giving me the low down on DERV alternatives, but I still have one or two (or three) questions which are bugging me:

1) Do the government tax fuels such as rapeseed oil and kero just like they tax vegetable oil?

2) How do I actually pay the tax to the government?

3) If I had a 50/50 mix of vegetable oil and diesel in my tank, can they tell?

Thanks in advance for any help!
-Pos

Click to expand...

1/ Yes. What is rapeseed oil if it isn't vegetable?
2/Fill in some forms from the customs and excise then send em a cheque every month.
3/ Yes. And your exhaust fumes will smell like a chipshop.

Thanks for the quick response,

Good point about the rapeseed, and I will look into the customs and excise procedure!

Thanks again
-Pos

Good evening to you,
Im currently running a 50/50 mix of diesel & veg oil in my 200tdi disco. Even with that ratio you can notice a very different smell. However the engine seems to run smoother and ive not noticed any change in performance. So far so good. Regarding the tax paying side of things, not sure how this works, how much you have to pay. Does this apply to those who use this set up all the time? or would this apply to me as i only run it like this every now & then. How can this be policed.

illfixthat said:

Good evening to you,
Im currently running a 50/50 mix of diesel & veg oil in my 200tdi disco. Even with that ratio you can notice a very different smell. However the engine seems to run smoother and ive not noticed any change in performance. So far so good. Regarding the tax paying side of things, not sure how this works, how much you have to pay. Does this apply to those who use this set up all the time? or would this apply to me as i only run it like this every now & then. How can this be policed.

Click to expand...

Well the general method of policing it is to set up a road side ambush party comprising the local constabulary, VOSA and HM customs and Revenue officers and occasionally Court enforcement officers. They then divert as many cars as they can through said ambush and go over it to see if they can find anything which warrants a fixed penalty fine in order to try and raise enough revenue to pay for the aforesaid ambush. If you have anything in your tank that hasn't had the full duty paid on it they can seize your vehicle. alternatively they visit supermarket carparks and the like and dip your tank (they don't need your permisson and you don't even have to be present when they do it.

I'd say you're unlikely to get pulled over in a normal car but a van or Landy is more likely to attract the attention of the folks mentioned above. Having said that I've never been stopped and so could have potentially ripped the govt. off to the tune of thousands over the years and got away with it

I've never seen roadside fuel testing in my 10 years of driving and I've covered about 100,000 miles. I would be tempted (if I had a diesel) to run on vegetable oil etc. I commute via country lanes into the outskirts of a city centre, so mixed driving.

I'm sure they would be reluctant to stop people who fore example are on the motorway??

Simply stick a V8 badge on the rear and claim its a petrol!!

Regards,

Steve

G13SJC said:

I've never seen roadside fuel testing in my 10 years of driving and I've covered about 100,000 miles. I would be tempted (if I had a diesel) to run on vegetable oil etc. I commute via country lanes into the outskirts of a city centre, so mixed driving.

I'm sure they would be reluctant to stop people who fore example are on the motorway??

Simply stick a V8 badge on the rear and claim its a petrol!!

Regards,

Steve

Click to expand...

I've been driving for 26 years and once did 100k in a single year I've seen wagons getting checked many times, along with Landrovers and vans. I've been pulled into a checkpoint a few timesand never had my tank dipped but I know a few people that have.

They operate in the Southport area once a week, there is a fuel station that sells Red diesel and Kerosene, so they have a vehicle watching the pumps that then radios on a head to the checkpoint that is set up in a lay buy pulling anything that has put fuel into containers or tanks. Latest thing that is happening with VOSA, operators that normally check on MOT stations are now being re-assigned to these check points for vehicle checks and to assist in the removal of impounded vehicles (our MOT station is used for checking vehicles by VOSA after the road side stops). MOT stations are now being checked with "Mystery Shoppers".

what happens if yer running on chip oil, or animal oil, and you've paid the tax. what proof do you need that you've paid?

i always keep my reciept for my Bio Diesel with me (as told to by our VOSA man) so i presume if duty has been paid through the correct channels a reciept should be given or it may be recorded on a Central Database that they can access at the roadside.

i'd hope they'd have it on record somewhere,, it would a bit of a bummer if yer vehicle got confiscated cos yer doris hadn't checked yer pockets before stickin yer strides in the washing machine. and all you had for a receipt was a small lump of very clean but very hard paper

G13SJC said:

I've never seen roadside fuel testing in my 10 years of driving and I've covered about 100,000 miles. I would be tempted (if I had a diesel) to run on vegetable oil etc. I commute via country lanes into the outskirts of a city centre, so mixed driving.

I'm sure they would be reluctant to stop people who fore example are on the motorway??

Simply stick a V8 badge on the rear and claim its a petrol!!

Regards,

Steve

Click to expand...

You don't get upto North wales very often then? Good old Richard Brunsom holds regular ambush parties all the time but especially during the last week of the month so he can also catch those people who decided to wait till the start of the month to tax their cars.

To answer another post if Your running on any vehicle on non duty paid fuel. I:e Red diesel, Veggie Oil, Bio-Ethanol etc etc then you have to inform HMCR and register your vehicle. You then record your mileage fuel amount, both duty and non-duty, and send a copy to them usually monthly. If you get dipped and your vehicle isn't registered with them they can sieze the vehicle. All forecourt brought bio-diesel has chemical markers which they can check for. So you don't need to keep receipts for it.

eee!