Time to make your voice heard on red diesel, says RYA
The RYA is urging users of diesel propelled craft, particularly private pleasure craft, to have their say on the future of red diesel.
It’s not about the colour, tax status or price, says the RYA, it’s about existing supply needs.
A consultation’s been launched by HMRC about the proposed changes to the rules.
At this year’s Spring Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak shared plans for the intended removal of entitlement to use red diesel from April 2022, except for the agriculture sector (including forestry, horticulture and fish farming), railways, and where red diesel is used to power non-commercial heating systems, such as in homes, narrowboats and places of worship.
The Government’s looking for evidence as to whether other sectors, including recreational boating, should be allowed to maintain use of the fuel beyond April 2022.
The decision by the Government to withdraw red diesel from wider use has been motivated by its intention to tackle climate change by incentivising businesses to improve the energy efficiency of their products.
The RYA says it supports a move to increase energy efficiency in the short term and to develop a pathway to zero carbon for all sectors in line with UN goals.
But the RYA’s case for retaining red diesel is about existing supply needs, not colour, tax status or price. Recreational boaters already pay the full rate of duty and VAT when purchasing fuel for the purposes of propulsion.
The RYA will be looking at the proposals to reform the tax treatment of red diesel to see how this might affect the supply of fuel for recreational use.
The further west and north you travel in the UK the more likely it is that you will have to rely on waterside outlets that only supply red diesel for commercial purposes, such as to fishing fleets, says the RYA. In many remote places the limited quantities of fuel used by recreational craft do not warrant the cost of installing additional equipment to supply white diesel for the recreational boating sector.
If the Government removes the entitlement to use red diesel from most sectors from April 2022 and white diesel is consequently made as widely available as red diesel is now, the supply of fuel will not be affected.
Dear Sirs,
The UK has been sitting on the fence with this issue for years where the rest of Europe has just got on with it and made the change. I don’t have any problem getting white diesel in my travels in Europe and generally it is not too expensive compared with the UK pricing structure and taxes. We have probably spent more money on all the talking about it than it would have cost to do it!. There is no justification for the UK to continue using red diesel for leisure use I don’t expect to get reduced price fuel for the leisure use of my car so why my boat? I am fed up with all the winging going on about the cost of installing a white diesel supply.
My main concern over the use of white diesel is the issue of the inclusion of the dangerous levels of Bio fuel, which has been the frequent cause of marine engine failures. If you want to make a fuss make a fuss about that risk to life.
Andy
The system is a complete joke! There is no fine for using red diesel and no-one is testing craft to see if they are using red or white diesel (in the UK). How can they enforce any system if there is no consequence? Even if you get stopped in your car using red diesel, all they do is drain your fuel system and charge you for doing it. The only reason more people don’t use red diesel on the road is because there are not many dodgy fuel outlets willing to allow you to fill up with red diesel. The marinas should refuse to sell white diesel and force The government into making its mind up if it is really illegal or not!
Is this the right place to have your voice heard? Was looking for a link. Surely the simplest thing from an infrastructure perspective is only use white diesel everywhere and let commercial users buy at a discount.
The link is in the highlighted text above, but here it is too: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-reforms-to-the-tax-treatment-of-red-diesel-and-other-rebated-fuels