Fuel for thought from Clare haulier

IMPLEMENTING a new rebate system for hauliers and eliminating the requirement for green diesel could result in a net gain of over €300 million for the Government, according to a Bunratty-based national and international licensed carrier.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) has proposed a radical overhaul of excise duty in Ireland for hauliers, farmers and agricultural contractors, which it insists would generate hundreds of millions of euro in taxation for the exchequer.
IRHA president Eoin Gavin currently saves €100 per week by filling each of his six trucks with about 1,000 litres in Belgium, which results in a loss of €600 per vehicle in excise duty to the Government.
However, under a radical proposal devised by the IRHA and Limerick-based consultants Deloitte and Touche, international and national hauliers could resume refuelling in Ireland with huge benefits for operators and the State.
It is accepted that a vehicle has an average fuel use of 1,000 litres per week. According to an IRHA survey, 21 members reported they purchased about 6.75 million litres elsewhere in Europe on the basis of price.
Refuelling abroad with an average of 321,000 litres per year, results in a loss of €150,000 to the exchequer in excise duty per member.
Assuming a cut from 46 cent to 41 cent in excise and carbon duty, this would result in reversing the trend of duty leakage to jurisdictions such as Belgium and France, creating an inflow from foreign operators to Ireland.
Mr Gavin warned hauliers would organise street demonstrations if the Government fails to take action on their innovative proposal.
The total differential on 1.225 billion litres between the excise duty on agricultural diesel and regular diesel is €460 million. The Irish Petrol Retailers Association has claimed €115m of this excise duty is effectively lost to the exchequer on the basis that 300 million litres would come back into the mainstream fuel market. This is outside of any VAT take on the fuel.
A new system could be introduced providing one excise charge for all diesel with an agricultural rebate system being implemented whereby registered, tax-compliant farmers could reclaim the cost of their diesel on a periodical basis.
It would also eliminate a significant portion of illicit fuel from the market and the considerable expense incurred by the State in dealing with the environmental impact of fuel laundering.
One method of administering this for farmers and agricultural contractors is through oil distribution companies, whereby rebated fuel users would have to register their details with their preferred oil company in order to get a rebate at the point of sale. This new scheme could be administered with the IFA or Teagasc.