Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979

14 Rebate on light oil for use as furnace fuel

(1) On light oil charged with the excise duty on hydrocarbon oil, and delivered for home use as furnace fuel for burning in vaporised or atomised form by a person for the time being approved in accordance with regulations made for the purposes of this subsection under section 24(1) below, there shall be allowed at the time of delivery a rebate of duty at a rate of £0.0055 a litre less than the rate at which the duty is charged.

(2) Except with the consent of the Commissioners, no oil in whose case rebate has been allowed under this section shall—

(a) be put to a use otherwise than as mentioned in subsection (1) above; or

(b) be acquired or taken into any vehicle, appliance or storage tank in order to be put to such a use.

(3) In giving their consent for the purposes of subsection (2) above, the Commissioners may impose such conditions as they think fit.

(4) A person who—

(a) uses or acquires oil in contravention of subsection (2) above; or

(b) is liable for oil being taken into a vehicle, appliance or storage tank in contravention of that subsection,

shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of three times the value of the oil or £100, whichever is the greater; and the Commissioners may recover from him the amount of the rebate allowed on the oil.

(5) A person who supplies oil having reason to believe that it will be used otherwise than as mentioned in subsection (1) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a penalty of three times the value of the oil or £100, whichever is the greater, if that use without the consent of the Commissioners would contravene subsection (2) above.

(6) A person who, with the intent that the restrictions imposed by subsection (2) above should be contravened.—

(a) uses or acquires oil in contravention of that subsection ; or

(b) supplies oil having reason to believe that it will be put to a use otherwise than as mentioned in subsection (1) above, being a use which, without the consent of the Commissioners, would contravene subsection (2) above,

shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection.

(7) A person who is liable for oil being taken into a vehicle, appliance or storage tank in contravention of subsection (2) above shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection where the oil was taken in with the intent by him that the restrictions imposed by that subsection should be contravened.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (6) or (7) above shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a penalty of the prescribed sum or of three times the value of the oil in question, whichever is the greater, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both ; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a penalty of any amount, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both.

(9) For the purposes of this section, a person is liable for oil being taken into a vehicle, appliance or storage tank in contravention of subsection (2) above if he is at the time the person having the charge of the vehicle, appliance or tank, or is its owner, except that if a person other than the owner is, or is for the time being, entitled to possession of it, that person and not the owner is liable.

(10) Any oil acquired, or taken into a vehicle, appliance or storage tank, as mentioned in subsection (2) above, or supplied as mentioned in subsection (5) or (6) above, shall be liable to forfeiture.