Vegetable Oil - Registering With HM Customs & Excise

[billyh]

Has anyone managed to register with Customs & Excise for paying duty on vegetable oil using Form EX103?

If so how did you complete the form? The form would appear to be designed for companies who are producing biofuels rather than the private individual who wants to use straight vegetable oil from the supermarket.

There also seems to be a difference of opinion between various faxctions as to whether straight vegetable oil qualifies for the lower rate tax.

www.dieselveg.com, who supply conversion kits to run on straight vegetable oil, claim on their site that as long as you register using Form EX103 then you can qualify for the lower rate tax but other sites like www.bio-power.co.uk claim that registering for the lower rate tax using Form EX103 is only for when using "modified" vegetable oils and they also state that straight vegetable oil does not qualify for the lower rate tax!

Does anyone know who is correct?

[mike tilley]

I've not registered myself but like you, have done alot of reading up on it and can only conclude that know one knows what's correct and what's not....including customs and excise!!!!

For what it's worth the way I understand it is....If you can run purely on SVO/WVO or biodiesel you get the lower tax rate. If you have to run on a SVO/WVO diesel mix then you have to pay the higher rate. Though I believe when talking to C&E you can get different answers depending who you talk to, the time of day and if there's the letter B in the month. In other words they aint got a clue :rolleyes:

[andreadavide]

This letter was posted today on another LR related list.
It seems that the vampires at HM C&E (but you should meet the Italian ones then the HM ones will seem reasonable people) have definitely stated that SVO attracts the higher fuel tax....
A retrospective judgment, too!!!!!

Andrea

Dear Sir

Visit 7th September: Production of Biofuels and Payment of Excise Duty
at the Reduced Rate.

I have contacted the Mineral Oils Relief Centre in Newcastle and
discussed your case. The registration issued to you is for Biodiesel
not Fuel Substitutes and therefore they will have to amend your
registration.

I am writing to clarify to you an aspect of HM Revenue and Customs'
policy on the acceptability of Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) being used
as a road fuel, and users paying Excise Duty at the reduced rate.

SVO does not meet the fiscal specification for biodiesel, because it
is not accepted that it is a "diesel quality" fuel in the meaning
given in the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979s (2)(a).

HMRC consider that the product, vegetable oil, would require further
treatment before it met the "diesel quality" criterion. Following
legal advice we have concluded that vegetable oil (whether used or
unused) must be processed by some method, which converts the vegetable
oil into a fuel suitable for use in a diesel engine – the only method
we are currently aware of is the transesterification process.

HMRC consider that the intention of the law is to give the reduced
rate to fuel produced from vegetable oil (whether virgin or recovered)
and not to vegetable oil itself.

Given that you are not processing, and do not intend to process, the
vegetable oils that you will be using in your vehicle in furtherance
of your business. I must inform you that the fuel that you intend to
process is a Fuel Substitute. Fuel Substitutes are dutiable (taxable)
at the same rate as the fuel that they replace, in this case Ultra Low
Sulphur Diesel.



The duty rate currently in force is £0.471, pence per litre, Tax type 545.
Duty payment on your HO930 return August 2005 BD/330/05 was £21.14,
tax type 589, for 78 litres but duty due for 78 litres of Fuel
Substitute tax type 589 is £36.74.

The Underpayment of £15.60 duty should be included on your September
HO930 return.
As agreed with The accounting office at Southend please annotate the
September 2005 return against 33 - 545 includes £15.60 underpayment.

If you do not agree with this decision, you may ask for an independent
review. Your request for a review must be made in writing. It should
be sent within 45 days of the date of this letter. Please write to:

The Excise Appeals and Reconsideration Team
Portcullis House,
21 India Street,
Glasgow
G2 4PZ

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the review by HM Revenue
and Customs you can then appeal to an independent tribunal. Notice
990 gives further details about your right and about the appeals
procedures. This Notice is also available from the Revenue & Customs
website www.hmrc.gov.uk

Please acknowledge receipt of this letter by signing the attached
copy and returning it to me immediately.


Yours faithfully




Nell McLelland
Officer of H M Revenue & Customs
Page 2 0f 2
File path >s drive>excise central>assurance>nells oils work>biofuels

I confirm that I have read and understood the contents of this letter
of which the foregoing is a copy.



Signed: Status:

Name: Date:

[turbine_2]

Now that is intersting, I was under the impression that putting unused veg oil through the esterification process did not entitle you to the lower duty rate, only used oil could be.

[mike tilley]

SVO does not meet the fiscal specification for biodiesel, because it
is not accepted that it is a "diesel quality" fuel in the meaning
given in the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979s (2)(a).

This is not true, from what I've heard discussed SVO exceeds these standards.

Have a look here (http://www.vegetableoildiesel.co.uk/customs.html)

In the UK the government have recently introduced a new tax incentive for vegetable oil based fuels. The definition of biodiesel is 'an ester of vegetable oil fatty acid', which includes methyl ester (biodiesel made with methanol) and ethyl ester etc. Also, from a technical perspective, vegetable oil in it's pure form is an ester, therefore it also comes under the tax ruling. The duty payable on biodiesel is now 27.1 pence per litre (+ VAT), as opposed to 47.1 pence for ultra low sulphur diesel.

[mike tilley]

Hmmmm...having just waded through another thread on the Goat industries forum, Im not so sure now.....Grrrrrr :confused: