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Operators caught running illegally on red diesel rarely face the public shame of prosecution. Is enough being done to stamp out the tax evaders who steal a march on their lawabiding competitors? No dear figures exist of the extent to which rogue . operators both in the UK and on the Continent are using red diesel to evade .duty and put their legitithate .competitors at a disadvantage.
Many international • operators.
suspect the, illegal use of red diesel— rebated fuel intended for off roadand domestic use—to be much higher than the prosecution figures suggest. . ' ..
The low protile of:the Villains is largely due. to the fact that most cases never become. publiC. but are dealt with in out7of.i.lourt settlements by HM Customs & Excise. The p-olice do: notbeconne involved in prosecuting such offences' ..
In the year to the end of March 1.993 (the latest figures available from Customs & Excise') only 15 offences were recorded of lorries using rebated fuel on .the public highway in the -UK and only a few of these came to court resulting in a total of £13,700 in fines and one -jail sentence. The rest netted £361,000, collected in out-of-court compound agreements from the offenders. , This suggests an average of £25,000 collected in "fines" for each offence dealt with. And in most cases the offending vehicle is seized. "It becomes the property of the Crown and may later be restored for sum of -money," says a Customs spokesman.
In particillarly serious offences it has been known for vehicles not to be returned although in many cases the offenders get their trucks back the same day. "Prosecutions have to be minimised because of the costs involved," admits Customs, adding: "Those that are prosecuted tend to be habitual offenders or they may have assaulted an officer."
But if few offenders are prosecuted, those who are caught may feel it is worth paying an out of court fine which may not approach anything like the money they have saved on duty. Unlike operators found guilty of hours offences or overloading they remain anonymous and have saved themselves 27.7p duty per litre on who knows how many thousands of miles worth of taxable white diesel.
Guzzlers One Irish International operator (who did not want to be named) receives regular reports from his drivers that red diesel is routinely used on Continental routes by competitors. "Anyone hanging round Dover docks at the beginning of the week can see vehicles with 300 gallon guzzlers," he says.
"Many of these use home-made tanks which are not safe," he adds, "Some even carry 500 gallon tanks fitted underneath the trailer. Others have tanks hidden beneath the chassis rails.
Another common ploy, according to this operator, is to divert red diesel from the refrigerated unit—where it can be used legally— through a feed line to the engine.
Hidden tanks have also allegedly created a market to exploit stolen credit cards with rogue operators running to the Continent on red diesel and importing white diesel paid for with a stolen card.
Vehicles with these additional tanks may well be running seriously overweight, creating a further problem with legality and safety. EC Regulation 59 states: "Every fuel tank fitted to a motor vehicle (including any tank used for supplying fuel to ancillary equipment, etc on the vehicle) shall be constructed and maintained so that no spillage or leakage occurs. Motor vehicles first used from 1 July 1973 must be fitted with metal tanks."
The Irish operator questions why, as fuel costs much the same across Europe and VAT is recoverable, it is necessary to carry vast amounts of diesel into Continental Europe unless it is to evade duty: "The EC should set a limit of 200 litres per trailer."
This view will not be popular with many UK operators who have faced fines from the French authorities for using belly tanks carrying legitimate duty-paid fuel.
Haulier KA Godden had a truck carrying goods worth more than £500,000 impounded and was fined .£1,400 for carrying white diesel in a catwalk tank. It was expected that the French would accept the use of belly tanks carrying a maximum of 1,000 litres of fuel and certificated by the DOT. This now seems some way off—the French continue to appplyADR rules on the carriage of hazardous goods to such tanks.
Ironically, it was only recently that a loophole in Legal sources: HM Customs & Excise. FTA Yearbook of Road Transport Law. Croner's Road Transport Operation.
the law regarding Irish "green" diesel was closed. Green is the Republic's equivalent of red diesel, it had always been illegal for on-road use in Southern Ireland but its marker chemical had not been registered as illegal in the UK. As a result hauliers purchased quantities of the halfprice fuel near the Northern Irish border. This has now been stopped, says Customs, which expects an extra am a year duty as a result.
Do suppliers have responsibility to ensure that the rebated diesel they deliver is being used for farm machinery rather than artic t may units? "No," says Shell, "once we've delivered the fuel it is the customer's responsibility to make sure that it is used properly." by Patric Cunnane