Finance Act 1993

11 Other fuel substitutes.U.K.

(1)After section 6 of the M1Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 there shall be inserted the following section—

“6A Fuel substitutes.

(1)A duty of excise shall be charged on the setting aside for a chargeable use by any person, or (where it has not already been charged under this section) on the chargeable use by any person, of any liquid which is not hydrocarbon oil.

(2)In this section “chargeable use” in relation to any substance means the use of that substance—

(a)as fuel for any engine, motor or other machinery; or

(b)as an additive or extender in—

(i)any substance on which duty is charged by virtue of paragraph (a) above; or

(ii)any hydrocarbon oil which is or is to be used as mentioned in that paragraph.

(3)The rate of the duty under this section shall be prescribed by order made by the Treasury.

(4)In the following provisions of this Act references to hydrocarbon oil shall be construed as including references to any substance on which duty is charged under this section; and, accordingly, references to duty on hydrocarbon oil shall be construed, where a substance is to be treated as such oil, as including references to duty under this section.

(5)The Treasury may by order provide for any substance on which duty is charged under this section to be treated for the purposes of such of the following provisions of this Act as may be specified in the order as if it fell within the description of such one or more of the following as may be so specified, that is to say—

(a)heavy oil or light oil;

(b)aviation gasoline;

(c)fuel oil or gas oil, as defined in section 11(2) below; and

(d)unleaded petrol, as defined in section 13A(2) below.

(6)In exercising their powers under this section, the Treasury shall so far as practicable secure—

(a)that a substance set aside for use or used as mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above is—

(i)charged with duty at the same rate as, and

(ii)otherwise treated for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act as if it were,

the substance falling within the descriptions specified in subsection (5) above to which, when put to that use, it is most closely equivalent; and

(b)that a substance set aside for use or used as an additive or extender in any substance is—

(i)charged with duty at the same rate as, and

(ii)otherwise treated for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act as if it were,

the substance in which it is an additive or extender.

(7)For the purposes of this section “liquid” does not include any substance which is gaseous at a temperature of 15°C and under a pressure of 1013.25 millibars.

(8)The power of the Treasury to make an order under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons.

(9)An order under this section—

(a)may make different provision for different cases and for different substances;

(b)may prescribe the rate of duty under this section in respect of any substance by reference to the rate of duty under this Act in respect of any other substance; and

(c)in making different provision for different substances, may define a substance by reference to the use for which it is set aside or the use to which it is put.”

(2)Sections 4, 7 and 16 of that Act (petrol substitutes and power methylated spirits) shall cease to have effect.

(3)In section 22(1) of that Act (offence of using petrol substitutes on which duty has not been paid), for the words from the beginning to the word “shall”, in the first place where it occurs, there shall be substituted— “A person who—

(a)puts to a chargeable use (within the meaning of section 6A above) any liquid which is not hydrocarbon oil; and

(b)knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is duty charged under section 6A above on that liquid which has not been paid and is not lawfully deferred,

shall ”.

(4)In section 1(1)(b) of the M2Excise Duties (Surcharges or Rebates) Act 1979 (surcharges or rebates in respect of excise duties on hydrocarbon oil etc.), for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—

“(b)those chargeable by virtue of the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979;”.

(5)This section shall come into force on such day as the Treasury may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and different days may be appointed under this subsection for different provisions and for different purposes.