Non VAT/duty paid fuel in France

[longjohnsilver]

Lots of talk about having to produce receipts to prove that you've paid duty on the fuel you use in France. RYA make a big deal of it, but in reality how many people have actually been asked to prove that duty has been paid when cruising in French waters?

And what happens to all the French boats that fill up in the CIs? Presumably they'd all have a problem if it was a real issue, which i suspect it's not. And British boats taking advantage of the much cheaper diesel in the CIs.

Any actual experiences would be interesting to read.

 

[neale]

This is a new thing. You won't find many examples cos last year we didn't relly pay much in the way of duty. The problem is that now we do pay duty, the French know this, but we are still using red, which in most other EU countries means no, or low, duty.

So we now have to keep receipts to prove that our red in our tanks is duty paid.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Thanks Neale. Yes I know what you're saying but it still isn't clear to me what the French are actually doing about it. What about a boat which hasn't had to fill up since last november for example. No current receipts, so is that a problem or not?

Boats from the CI's must have experienced this, if it really is a problem. But as I've said I'm not convinced that in reality it is proving to be problematical. But then again i could be wrong and would hate to be the first test case!!

 

[neale]

At MBM our News team have been talking to the relevant people in Holland, Belgium and France. The Belgians were taking the hardest line simply saying "red diesel in the tank equals a fine". Not sure if they have mellowed on this yet. The Dutch and the French were saying "as long as you have a receipt to prove the fuel was purchased in the UK, you will be ok". Now no-one knows how often these foreign sorts are going to check our tanks, as this is the first season. I would think under the circumstances, it is best to be safe and follow these guidelines at least until we have this season under our belt and have seen how it works out.

If you don't have a receipt for your last fill, I would suggest making room in your tank for a fill before going abroad, but this is just my humble opinion.

 

[neale]

As for the CI boats. They are outside of the EU so would be treated the same as a boat arriving from the US or Caribbean. don't know what the rules are here but I'm guessing they will leave them well alone. If an EU boat fills up in the CIs, then treat the same as the UK and keep receipt to prove where fuel was purchased.

Actually this only applies to one of the CIs, I can't remember which way around it is but one sells red diesel and the other white.

 

[rallyveteran]

I'm a visitor from the raggie side of the water. My last diesel fill was pre-duty and I'm about to go to France. Not sure where my receipt is, but even if I can find it all it will confirm is that I didn't pay any duty, because none was due at the time. I'm not expecting to have to buy any more diesel for a couple of months. Apart from avoiding big ports (the only place where we have been boarded for a search in France have been Boulogne, Le Harvre and Brest) what else can I do?

 

[neale]

It doesn't matter that your receipt shows no duty, it does prove that you have not avoided duty. What the receipt shows is that you have not bought red diesel illegally in France. This is what the Customs will be looking for.

In an ideal world, the receipt will need a well kept log to back it up, as a receipt on its own proves nothing really.

There is nothing stopping anyone going anywhere with any fuel and no paperwork. It is up to each individual if they are prepared to accept the risk. The issue at the moment is we don't know how real or big that risk is.