Clause 9 - Mixing of rebated oil
Finance Bill
11:00 am
Mr Andrew Tyrie (Chichester, Conservative)
This is a concession to allow the mixing of fuels, and deal with the excise on the mixing of fuels. It gives oil companies certainty about the duty rate and is welcome for that reason. The clause need not detain the Committee for long. It replaces provisions that were made in legislation in 1996, which charged duty when two road fuels of differing duty rates were mixed. The clause removes those provisions in an attempt to simplify the introduction of new, more environmentally friendly fuels. We shall not oppose it on this side of the Committee.
I have only one question of substance, and I would be grateful if the Minister answered it. Is the clause intended to provide a permanent concession in the rules or will it apply for only a short, transitional period? Will the Minister give us some confidence that this concession on the mixing of fuels will remain on the statute book unaltered?