Claims of rebated fuel use
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A Leeds disciplinary inquiry has heard allegations that half the
operators in the Liverpool area are using rebated fuel.
Kirkby-based 1st Choice Skip Hire and First Choice Concrete had been called before North Western Deputy Traffic Commissioner Patrick Mulvenna. The associated companies hold licences for 10 vehicles and three trailers.
Traffic examiner Steven Brougham told the inquiry that three untaxed vehicles had concrete mixing equipment mounted on them. The company had tried to tax them as special vehicles but the MLA had refused to tax them at the lower rate. Senior Customs officer Derek Harrison said that after 12 vehicles had been tested for rebated fuel in August, director Alan McCullough admitted mixing paraffin with hydraulic oil which he had used in all the vehicles.
In addition, since November 1997 it was calculated that £70,348 of vehicle excise duty had been evaded and criminal proceedings might follow.
Asked why the paraffin mix had been used, McCullough said
it had been cheaper. He said that in the Liverpool area five out of 10 operators were using rebated tuel and getting away with it. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. He used to tax the concrete plant vehicles but other operators were not taxing theirs and it had been costing him G4,000 a year.
The Deputy TO said he would have to wait to see what Customs decided to do before consideration was given to the issue of the fuel.
Vehicle examiner Peter Turner said that over the past five years, 13 immediate and 10
delayed prohibitions had been imposed on the skip-hire company's vehicles. It had appeared at public inquiries in 1995 and 1997 and had been sent two warning letters. He had checked six vehicles in June. imposing four delayed prohibitions.
The declared inspection frequency of four weeks had been extended up to four months. Advice had been ignored and nine prohibitions had been issued since the last public inquiry. Turner agreed that only one delayed prohibition had been issued since June 1998.
Vehicle examiner Alan Barnes reported that when two of the concrete company's vehicles were checked in October they were satisfactory.
McCullough said the mainte
nance had been right since he had been reprimanded by TC Keith Waterworth last August.
Cutting the two licences to a total of eight vehicles and three trailers. Mulvenna said they had taken a long time to learn the maintenance lesson.