Before I have another go at the Belgains - what colour is Irish diesel?

[Stork_III]

I have approached the Dutch Embassy in London, and received the following reply:-

"In answer to your email of 20 December I can give you the following information.



We have required information from the Dutch Customs about their policy concerning red diesel and received the following information from them. They are aware of the fact that it is not possible for British yachtsman to fuel their thanks with anything else then red diesel at the moment. Therefore there is a special arrangement in place for British Yachts coming from the UK.



You can fill up your tanks with red diesel, but not take more fuel with you then the amount of your tanks. You have to be able to show the receipt, which can’t be older than 1 year old. On the receipt should be written that “the difference in tax between white and red diesel is paid by the UK Government (the 60/40 notice)”. According to the Dutch Customs this should be on the receipt automatically.



If you would like to have more information about the policy of the Dutch Customs you could contact them directly:



Douane

Postbus 3070

6401 DN Heerlen

The Netherlands

Tel.: +31 45 574 3031

www.douane.nl



I hope this information will help you further. And we hope that you will still be considering visiting the Netherlands on your summer cruise.



With kind regards,





Lieke Conijn

Office Manager
........................................................................
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Economic Section
38 Hyde Park Gate | SW7 5DP | London
........................................................................
T +44 20 7590 3259
F +44 20 7581 3450
E lon-ea@minbuza.nl

W www.hollanduktrade.nl

........................................................................

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HollandUKTrade

Nederlandse ambassade, Londen: www.dutchembassyUK.org

Economische afdeling, Nederlandse ambassade, Londen: www.hollanduktrade.nl

Netherlands Business Support Office, Manchester: www.nbso-manchester.co.uk

Agentschap NL, Den Haag: www.agentschapnl.nl

"

Hope this helps anybody planning a trip to Holland this summer. Doesn't help with the Belgians unfortunately.

 

[Burnham Bob]

well done stork iii

the reason i asked the belgains about irish diesel was that i wanted to find out if it was just UK boats they were fining - which could have suggested another agenda!

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

I keep all my fuel receipts and none of them have that statement on them.

Guess I should miss out Holland as well.

 

[Erik C]

NO one is allowed to use red diesel for propulsion, pulling out of the EU won't make any difference, you will still be fined. Unless you are a commercial vessel on a commercial trip.

 

[KevB]

NO one is allowed to use red diesel for propulsion, pulling out of the EU won't make any difference, you will still be fined. Unless you are a commercial vessel on a commercial trip.

Of course we are, we just have to pay the correct tax on it.

 

[Robin]

I keep all my fuel receipts and none of them have that statement on them.

Guess I should miss out Holland as well.

We had a card for 24hr fuel at Corralls in Poole two years back, useful for getting fuel at quiet times, payment collected by direct debit monthly. As part of the sign up they asked what split to allocate as in 60/40 and that IIRC was printed on the statement. We also filled at Berthon in Lymington and again IIRC they wrote the split on our receipt. However wherever we fueled we always asked for the receipts to be clearly marked 'tax paid' or similar and this was prior to Dec 2009 when we sold that boat. I kept a record in the ship's log and stuck the receipts in there also, with date, engine hours and amounts purchased.

 

[jordanbasset]

Re
"We have required information from the Dutch Customs about their policy concerning red diesel and received the following information from them. They are aware of the fact that it is not possible for British yachtsman to fuel their thanks with anything else then red diesel at the moment. Therefore there is a special arrangement in place for British Yachts coming from the UK.
You can fill up your tanks with red diesel, but not take more fuel with you then the amount of your tanks. You have to be able to show the receipt, which can’t be older than 1 year old. On the receipt should be written that “the difference in tax between white and red diesel is paid by the UK Government (the 60/40 notice)”. According to the Dutch Customs this should be on the receipt automatically."

What an eminently sensible approach by the Dutch, hopefully Belgium will also recognise how ridiculous their approach is.
In the meantime -
Mijn dank aan de geweldige mensen van Holland

 

[sailorman]

I have approached the Dutch Embassy in London, and received the following reply:-

"In answer to your email of 20 December I can give you the following information.



We have required information from the Dutch Customs about their policy concerning red diesel and received the following information from them. They are aware of the fact that it is not possible for British yachtsman to fuel their thanks with anything else than red diesel at the moment. Therefore there is a special arrangement in place for British Yachts coming from the UK.


T
You can fill up your tanks with red diesel, but not take more fuel with you then the amount of your tanks. You have to be able to show the receipt, which can’t be older than 1 year old. On the receipt should be written that “the difference in tax between white and red diesel is paid by the UK Government (the 60/40 notice)”. According to the Dutch Customs this should be on the receipt automatically.



If you would like to have more information about the policy of the Dutch Customs you could contact them directly:



Douane

Postbus 3070

6401 DN Heerlen

The Netherlands

Tel.: +31 45 574 3031

www.douane.nl



I hope this information will help you further. And we hope that you will still be considering visiting the Netherlands on your summer cruise.



With kind regards,





Lieke Conijn

Office Manager
........................................................................
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Economic Section
38 Hyde Park Gate | SW7 5DP | London
........................................................................
T +44 20 7590 3259
F +44 20 7581 3450
E lon-ea@minbuza.nl

W www.hollanduktrade.nl

........................................................................

Twitter: www.twitter.com/HollandUKTrade

Nederlandse ambassade, Londen: www.dutchembassyUK.org

Economische afdeling, Nederlandse ambassade, Londen: www.hollanduktrade.nl

Netherlands Business Support Office, Manchester: www.nbso-manchester.co.uk

Agentschap NL, Den Haag: www.agentschapnl.nl

"

Hope this helps anybody planning a trip to Holland this summer. Doesn't help with the Belgians unfortunately.

Thank you Stork
what a very sensible & straight forward answer

 

[Erik C]

Re

Mijn dank aan de geweldige mensen van Holland

Niets te danken.

 

[snooks]

It's green and I still have a jerry can full of it.

Bought from Howth in 2011, I might even have the receipt.

 

[maby]

Of course we are, we just have to pay the correct tax on it.

We're allowed to use it in the UK provided we have paid the correct tax, but we are not allowed to use it in Belgium. The British government's interpretation of the rules is very questionable by EU standards. Belgium is strictly enforcing the EU rules.

 

[dt4134]

It's green and I still have a jerry can full of it.

Bought from Howth in 2011, I might even have the receipt.

I'll post a pic....hang on

Lose the receipt because you haven't been charged duty on it. However the green diesel has the same chemical marker as the red and if you pour it into a tank of red you probably won't notice the red change colour.

 

[abdiel]

The grand solution !!!!

Im sure that I told you all this before , but my friend that goes to the continent on a regular basis has two tanks on his yacht. One with white deisel with about five litres for emergencies, this is the one he shows to any one that wants a sample. His running tank
holds 30ltr and is red diesel and is hidden away, even the filling cap is disguised!!!!
What is all the fuss about? if they want to be sneaky we can beat them at that game any day.
Abdiel

 

[Windhover]

The secret tank idea clearly cannot be relied on because, if you have read a post from Guapa on one of the other Diesel threads you will see that they had the fuel in the primary fuel filter removed and tested by Belgian customs

 

[maby]

The secret tank idea clearly cannot be relied on because, if you have read a post from Guapa on one of the other Diesel threads you will see that they had the fuel in the primary fuel filter removed and tested by Belgian customs

Has anyone here actually read the EU legislation on which the Belgian action is based? I'm tending to assume that it is the use of red diesel that is banned, not the possession of it? As I understand it, it is legal to use marked (and discounted) fuel for heating even in Belgium, isn't it? it should be possible to make a case that, if you swriched to the white diesel tank as you left UK waters, you are using unmarked diesel by the time you entered Belgian waters.

 

[Koeketiene]

As I understand it, it is legal to use marked (and discounted) fuel for heating even in Belgium, isn't it?

Heating oil (mazout - red) is still used/sold/legal in Belgium.
Mazout is sold to be used as fuel to heat homes/buildings only.
It's not unknown for diesel cars to be stopped by the douane 'flying squad' and have their tanks checked.

 

[Erik C]

You may also use red diesel for your generator, but it should be in a separate tank with no connection to the engine.

 

[abdiel]

Secret tank

Hi Windhover, the fuel system as a whole was taken into consideration when my friend was
installing his secret tank. It is no more difficult than setting up a standy by tank , but without it being so obviouse. You realy have to think on your feet to keep ahead of these
people.
Abdiel

 

[Koeketiene]

You realy have to think on your feet to keep ahead of these people.

Quite, because being foreign makes you stupid too

 

[sailorman]

Quite, because being foreign makes you stupid too

some are more stupid than others then