POOR
QUALITY FUEL
How
do you know what quality of fuel you’re
getting at the pump? We’re paying enough for it, for sure!
And the price is displayed clearly enough, but how can you tell
what sort of fuel you’re getting for your money!
A listener
tells On Your Behalf that he’s thinking of changing his
petrol car to a diesel and was worried when he found this information
on the Customs and Excise Organised Crime Task Force website
• Hydrocarbon Fuel Oils Fraud
Whilst the land border shared with the Republic of Ireland
facilitates fuel smuggling, much of the oils fraud in Northern
Ireland involves the laundering and misuse of rebated oils
like red diesel and kerosene.
The Government is acutely aware that the road fuel retail
sector has a high degree of illicit market penetration. HMC&E’s
estimate that approximately one third of retail sites in
Northern Ireland sell predominantly illicit fuel, while
a further third
sell illicit fuel on a regular basis. Responsibility for
licensing petrol sites lies with Local Authorities in Northern
Ireland
and is currently principally focused on health and safety
criteria.
However as part of the developing multi agency
strategy, the
OCTF Oils Expert Group is examining the scope to put in
place a more effective licensing regime which will address
the
current threats in the road fuel sector.
HMC&E will be introducing a new sanctions policy designed
to apply the maximum pressure to those engaged in oils fraud.
Work has already begun to:
•
Implement the Government’s UK wide strategy to tackle,
in particular, rebated fuels fraud and operate a new regulatory
regime to control the sale and distribution of rebated fuels;
• Increase their activity on retail sites engaged in the sale
of illicit fuel which is essential to tackling the problem
of revenue evasion
• Enhance their visible presence on the roadside in Northern
Ireland through a rolling programme of high-visibility
roadside checks to make clear that any evasion will be tackled and
provide a real deterrent to misuse.
The work has already borne fruit; for example,
during December 2002 HMC&E, PSNI and the Driver Vehicle and Testing Agency
(DVTA) ran a joint operation targeting illegal taxis which
resulted in 12 detections for HMC&E, 33 for the DVTA
and 38 for police.
Between 31 October and 2 November 2002, HMC&E, with PSNI
support, seized 26 vehicles, one of which was a tanker containing
illegal fuel. A total of 70,000 litres of unleaded fuel and
14,600 litres of derv were seized. Fines totalling £13,000
were imposed on motorists for the restoration of their
vehicles.
Overall in 2001/02 1.75 million litres of illicit fuels were
seized. In that period Customs officers dismantled 8 major
fuel laundering operations.
You can call Customs Confidential on a 24 HOUR FREEPHONE 0800
59 5000
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