HCOTEG34000 – Relevant Law: Travellers' Reliefs (fuel and lubricants) order 1995

For commercial vehicle’s entering the UK from another member state – only applies to standard tanks.

Any oil or gas imported in the standard tank*or tanks of a motor vehicle (and intended for use solely in that vehicle) may be imported free of duty.

Standard running tanks are defined by Article 24 of Council Directive 2003/96/EEC (restructuring the Community framework for the taxation of energy products and electricity): which states that “For the purpose of this Article “standard tanks” shall mean:

• the tanks permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all motor vehicles of the same type as the vehicle in question and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly, both the purpose of propulsion and where appropriate, for the operation during transport, of refrigeration systems and other systems. Gas tanks fitted to motor vehicles designed for the direct use of gas as a fuel and tanks fitted to the other systems with which the vehicle may be equipped shall also be considered to be standard tanks
• the tanks permanently fixed by the manufacturer to all containers of the same type as the container in question and whose permanent fitting enables fuel to be used directly for the operation, during transport, of the refrigeration systems and other systems with which special containers are equipped.

‘Special container’ shall mean any container fitted with specially designed apparatus for refrigeration systems, oxygenation systems, thermal insulation systems or other systems”.