HMRC Publishes Road Fuel Regulations

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

19 August 2008

Regulations published last week by the UK's HMRC maintain the price advantage of road fuel gas (often known as LPG) as against petrol. Despite the important price difference, however, only a tiny proportion of the country's cars run on LPG.

There isn't an exact equivalence between prices per kilo and per litre, but the comparison is close enough. Here are the current duties imposed on road fuel:

• 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel;
• 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol;
• 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel;
• 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol;
• 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG);
• 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel;
• 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel);
• 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil.

And the difference would have been even greater had the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, gotten away with his proposed 2 pence per litre increase in fuel duty that was expected to take place on 1st October, 2008.

Duty is 17% lower in real terms than in 1999, moans the government, but that doesn't impress motorists..

Mr Darling commented: "The global credit crunch and sharp rises in world oil prices have pushed up prices at the pump. Today's decision will help motorists and businesses get through what is a difficult time for everyone."

The Treasury says that postponing the planned increase in fuel duty is also consistent with the Government's commitment to support the Bank of England in maintaining low inflation.

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