Losing Red Diesel

Simon Chiles said:

@Chris F This is, I suspect, very old news that’s just been re hashed. It was proposed in the government’s consultation on restricting the fraudulent use of red diesel. As has already been stated I suggested that rural crime would dramatically increase because at least at the moment if some caravan dwelling nomad nicks your red he can still be prosecuted for using it for weeks after the event. If farmers had to use white you’d have to actually catch them helping themselves, after that there’s no evidence against them.
Secondly, as a law abiding citizen, I don’t put red into any of my cars. However, how tempting would it be to fill up with white from the farm tank that you’d claimed a rebate on when you knew you couldn’t be caught? I suggested the fraudulent use of rebated fuel would dramatically escalate.
Don’t forget that the Road Haulage Association would also oppose strongly to farmers having rebated white diesel because they ( farmers) would then be able to complete unfairly on haulage operations. How would HMRC decide how much fuel you could claim a rebate on? What if I direct drilled a couple of thousand acres and claimed I was ploughing it all. I’d have enough rebated fuel left to run a truck on at very competitive rates. Finally, how do you think the locals would react when, in leafy Surrey, I pulled into the fuel station at 8.30 in the morning ( when they’re all trying to get to work ) and stuck 800 litres in the combine.
To be fair to @Guy Smith this is the sort of thing that the NFU, NAAC etc. do behind the scenes all the time ( whether you’ve paid your sub or not ) to represent the industry. It never gets noticed or mentioned because it just happens.

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