22.03.2006

Cranes, platforms and telehandlers retain right to red diesel

The UK treasury has confirmed the changes to the categories of equipment allowed to use rebated red diesel.

It has confirmed that cranes, aerial lifts and concrete pumps will be allowed to continue to use the cheap fuel and also confirmed it for telehandlers.

In its preliminary statement today, it appears that the finance bill will only include enabling legislation that allows it to make changes to the excepted vehicle schedule at a later date without returning to parliament.

The mobile crane category is one of those that is to be amended, a draft treasury order with details will be published before the summer.

One thing is certain though, cranes, concrete pumps and vehicle mounted aerial lifts over 3,500kg Gross Vehicle Weight, will retain the right to use red diesel.

Uncertainty still covers vehicle mounts under 3,500kgs, with clarification likely to come in the draft report.

Indications from Revenue & Customs inspectors is that chassis mounted aerial lifts under 3,500 kg may be allowed to continue to use red diesel, while panel-van mounted lifts will most definitely not, and will have to use the more expensive tax paid white diesel.

An interesting new category joining the excepted vehicles list is Agricultural material handlers, which means telescopic handlers. They currently qualify as excepted vehicles under the works truck category which restricts travel on the public road to less than one kilometre. The new category will not include a distance restriction.
Click here to go directly to the relevant document at UK HMRC


Vertikal Comment

Today’s announcement is an all round victory for the CPA and IPAF on behalf of the Crane and aerial lift industries. At one point it looked as though the treasury was vindictively targeting vehicle mounted aerial lifts, following its loss of an earlier court case brought by Nationwide and PTP (now Loxam).

However it has either sensibly backed off from this stance or its motives have been misunderstood all along, and that all it wanted to do was to clarify the treatment of panel van mounted lifts.

It is true that confusion has existed, with some van mounted owners using white diesel while others have claimed the right to use red.

All in all, today’decision will please most hire companies regardless of the clarification contained in this summers report.