This measure introduces legislative changes through Finance Bill 2021 and subsequent secondary legislation to restrict the entitlement to use red diesel and rebated biofuels from April 2022 to the following qualifying purposes:

• for vehicles and machinery used in agriculture, horticulture, fish farming and forestry. This includes allowing vehicles used for agriculture to be used for cutting verges and hedges, snow clearance and gritting roads

• to propel passenger, freight or maintenance vehicles designed to run on rail tracks

• for heating and electricity generation in non-commercial premises – this includes the heating of homes and buildings such as places of worship, hospitals and townhalls; off-grid power generation; and non-propulsion uses on permanently-moored houseboats

• for maintaining community amateur sports clubs as well as golf courses (including activities such as ground maintenance, and the heating and lighting of clubhouses, changing rooms etc.)

• as fuel for all marine craft refuelling and operating in the UK (including fishing and water freight industries), except for propelling private pleasure craft in Northern Ireland

• for powering the machinery (including caravans) of travelling fairs and circuses

The measure will also extend fuel duty to biodiesel, bioblends and fuel substitutes used in heating, applying the rebated duty rate to non-commercial heating and the full rate of duty to commercial heating. Consequential changes to covering penalties for contravening restrictions on the use of rebated fuels will also be made. The legislation will provide for secondary legislation to enable HMRC to disapply its powers to seize vehicles or other machinery in certain circumstances.

Registered fuel suppliers that switch a fuel tank from red to white diesel will need to flush out the tank and supply lines until no trace of marked rebated fuel remains. This will help to ensure compliance and minimise the risk that white diesel that has had the full duty rate paid on it is contaminated with the red diesel marker.

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