(9 years ago)
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The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Damian Hinds)
The Government are committed to tackling fuel fraud. HMRC’s oils fraud strategy has seen the UK tax gap for fuels reduce from £1.5 billion in 2002 to around £100 million in 2013-14. In Northern Ireland, where this issue has been a particular problem, the illicit market share has been reduced from 26% to 8% over the same period. However, the Government recognise there is no room for complacency.
One form of fuel fraud is fuel laundering—the removal of chemical dyes and covert markers from rebated fuel to give the appearance of legitimate road fuel. To tackle this problem, the UK, together with the Republic of Ireland, introduced a new fuel marker, Accutrace, from 1 April 2015.
Since its introduction, HMRC have been monitoring its performance. I will deposit a copy of HMRC’s evaluation, based on the first six months’ worth of data, in the Library of the House.
The review suggests the new marker is having a positive effect, but it is too early to say if the reductions are sustained, or to establish causality. HMRC will continue to monitor the impact of the new fuel marker and will publish a further update on the first 12 months of data. HMRC will keep the fuel marker under constant review and will take further action if required.
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