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Betts calls for disclosure of hauliers using red diese
Page 6
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• by Emma Penny Customs and Excise has slammed a call by Senior Traffic Commissioner Michael Betts to have TCs informed of all hauliers found using illegal diesel, in the TCs' Annual Reports 2001-02. Betts says that for several years he has "reported the frustration of the Commissioners that HM Customs and Excise will not tell us about operators who they find to be using red diesel".
Now he is "inviting" Department of Transport ministers to take the matter up with their counterparts in the Treasury. He says several previous attempts to come to an agreement with Customs have "come to nothing".
Betts believes there is very little deterrent against using illegal fuel if the TCs are not told. The TCs believe this practice would be significantly reduced if operators knew their TCs would be informed. Betts says there is a "strong possibility that the 0-licence would be revoked since the use of red diesel must raise questions about an operator's repute". However, a spokesman for Customs and Excise says it already discloses information to a wide range of agencies. He adds that it is working with those organisations to achieve exactly what Betts is asking for: "We are working with Mr Betts' office to ensure the information is shared in this way—we are surprised he has made these comments."
The spokesman points out that the Data Protection Act prohibits routine disclosure of civil cases, adding: "We are quite surprised that a senior law officer like Mr Betts would like us to work outside the law."
Transport lawyer Jonathan Backhouse, who regularly deals with cases involving fuel, believes Betts may be looking at the situation "too simplistically". He says: "There are often hugely mitigating circumstances. What la haulier buys a wagon from someone who has been using red diesel? What if he's not aware that the diesel he is putting into his tank is illegal?" Customs' chief aim is to recover lost revenue. Where a haulier is using illegal diesel but there are mitigating circumstances, Backhouse says it can often come to a "legal compromise". "This prevents both sides going to court, but the confidential nature means Customs obtains intelligence which can help crack laundering rings."
But Backhouse warns that where hauliers are blatantly using illegal fuel Customs will prosecute, and anything in a civil court can be brought to the TC's attention. "Also, if the VI are at checks and trucks are found to be running on illegal