§ Mr. Jonathan EvansTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to enforce compliance with excise duties on diesel fuel in respect of diesel-powered vehicles on public roads.
§ Sir John CopeResponsibility for the control of the illegal use of hydrocarbon oil which has not borne the full rate of excise duty is assigned to Customs and Excise. Control is carried out by 17 regional road fuel testing units, using mobile testing vehicles. Customs officers have the power to test the fuel of stationary diesel vehicles and by a series of simple visual and chemical tests can detect the presence of rebated diesel in the fuel tank of a vehicle.