Summer holiday on East Coast

[MY littleboat]

Be very very careful. If you don't have a diesel heater fed from your main tank and they dip your tank and find red you Will gat carted duty regardless of whether you have receipts or not. The Dutch are currently the worst as it is now completely illegal to have red diesel in your boat unless it is commrcially coded oddly. It has been illegal since the end of February this year apparently as in holland this law came into force the January before last but through successful intervention of othr agencies it was extended for a further 12 months

some get away with it others don't and so as is said above. Beware

[Antares_9]

Can’t see that being an issue as if one had no heating one would have declared 100% instead of 60/40% and paid full UK duty, provided you have fully paid receipts showing that duty then all should be OK. In fact if you have no heating and have declared 60/40 in the UK you are committing the same offence. The worst that can happen is you will be charged the duty for the country you are visiting so on say the 300 or so litres left in your tank then €150 should cover it, then on return the RYA and HMCR are making a big thing about claiming it back and are actively soliciting reports of such behaviour in EU ports.

[senator]

According to MBM David the duty paid will be on the capacity of your tanks not just what is left, there is still the argument that a percentage of fuel on any boat with living accommodation is used for domestic use even if you have no Heating. Charging battery's, heating water etc.

[Guest]

According to MBM David the duty paid will be on the capacity of your tanks not just what is left, there is still the argument that a percentage of fuel on any boat with living accommodation is used for domestic use even if you have no Heating. Charging battery's, heating water etc.

Have they considered the capacity of our "rum Cellar" and whether we did or not pay excise on that???

l bling! : : :

[senator]

so on say the 300 or so litres left in your tank

I Wish, Clanny's tanks would be almost empty by the time she made Belgium or Holland.

[Antares_9]

According to MBM

I'll go by the HMCR advice drawn up in consultation with their European colleagues rather than a mag that has of late been so full of factual errors Ian. Problem is the people on the ground have been misinterpreting the rules (this is why HMCR and RYA want first hand reports supported by documentation on any such incidents) We're taking a Flemish translation and an English copy with us to help avoid this.

[pks1702]

RYA Advice here: http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatin ... broad.aspx

The RYA therefore recommends that recreational boaters visiting other EU member states:-

* Keep receipts for diesel purchased in the UK, to prove that it was bought in the UK, and request that your retailer marks them "duty paid".

* You should also log the date of refuelling and engine hours to reinforce these records;

* Do not carry red diesel anywhere other than in their craft‟s main fuel storage tanks; and

* Do not purchase red diesel in a country where the purchasing of rebated fuel by leisure craft is prohibited by law

Got copies of our Fuel Bills showing duty paid, engine hours are logged.

Quote from a person in another place:

The Douane spokesman said that the fine would be €4.53 per litre of diesel on board - not the capacity of the tank. Must have been an example of different local interpretation.

RYA take as David alluded:

Dear

The RYA has taken the advice of a specialist tax barrister, who has confirmed our view that the UK's continued use of red diesel in pleasure yachts is lawful under EU law. As such, we have been working with HMRC on an ongoing basis in an effort to persuade the authorities in the Netherlands and Belgium in particular that yachts visiting those countries from the UK with red diesel in their main propulsion tanks should not be penalised. We are also lobbying the European Commission to confirm the position under EU law and to put pressure on those authorities.

In the mean time, we recommend that people anticipate being stopped in the Netherlands and Belgium and therefore carry copies of the translated letter from the EU Commission detailing that the diesel may be used as long as it is duty paid (and this can be proven), together with the receipts (marked duty paid) and a log of engine hours (if possible) showing how the diesel has been used. It is also important to fill up with the correct fuel whilst abroad (i.e. it is generally not legal to buy red diesel for use in pleasure craft elsewhere in the EU) and retain these receipts as well. By following this advice, boaters should not experience difficulties cruising other countries in the EU.

If members do experience difficulties with the authorities in the Netherlands or Belgium first hand then we ask them to send us a detailed report (including the relevant paperwork) so that we can take their specific cases up with HMRC.

Kind regards

Carol

Carol Paddison | RYA Cruising Officer | e-mail carol.paddison@rya.org.uk

[Antares_9]

Yet another good reason for anal retention of receipts and maintaining a contemporary log.

It's a bit sad but I can tell you every drop of fuel that's been put in Kingfisher from when she was delivered to us new and at what engine hours and sea miles the fuel was taken on.

[Antares_9]

I Wish, Clanny's tanks would be almost empty by the time she made Belgium or Holland.

Well I guess with a petrol boat that none of this stuff gives people a problem anyway 'cos it's all full duty.

[Antares_9]

Just a quick update on the red stuff and customs, the only interest we got was a friendly nod from a couple of fully tooled up officers walking past on our pontoon as we relaxed in the cockpit. We were asked at no point for paperwork of any sort even when we decided to take the inland canal route from Oostende to Niewpoort, no passports, no ships papers, nothing. We were only asked to complete Schengen forms three days after arriving. Of course this may not be indicative of the norm but truth to tell I suspect it is. I guess it could just have easily been reverse sod’s law in that we had every piece of paper and receipt with us so none were needed, maybe if we were a bit short in that dept we may have been asked.

[Guest]

Hi All

last year when holed up,due to bad weather, in Den Helga Holand,we were boarded by dutch customs offices,after some small talk,I was asked if we had any red diesel in our tank's,informed them that we had been on holiday for two weeks,had refilled several times ,produced all receipt's including one from brooms,they discarded all bar the brooms one,they then stated that it proved we had red in our tanks,my reply was that after the amount of white diesel we had consumed,it would be a wisper pink colour,not even a smile,they continued that i was liable to pay duty on the total amount our tanks hold,( we have extra range tanks 3no=340 gallons total)I said duty was paid on all feul,I then produced a letter downloaded from mbm stating that we could use red diesel as agreed by the power's that be,they asked to take a copy and on there return ageed no duty was payable,our friends boat moored along side did not atract there atention,we could only put this down to that we were flying the red duster,and they were not,no other paperwork was asked for

merlyn

[pks1702]

Sorry to hear that Merlyn but it is about what we had heard. Dutch and French can be hot Belgium Doune pretty laid back.

They almost tripped over on David's Red Duster and just gave a cheery wave. We had full receipts and a copy of the RYA/HMRC letter but fortunately had no need to use it. Apart from the friendly people, helpful marina's, super food no hassle from customs was another reason we opted for Belgium and decided not to head into Holland. Maybe another year.

Well done for sticking to your guns.