Vol. 536 No. 4
22 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Finance if he will consider an excise duty exemption for recycling waste oil and fats into a biodiesel; the way in which such excise duty exemptions are processed and considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14178/01]
It is unclear that a product as is suggested could qualify as a biofuel under excise law. It is also unclear if waste mineral oil or vegetable oils are intended for use in this product. The persons interested in any such scheme should contact the Revenue Commissioners if they need more information.
Under section 94 of the Finance Act, 1999, "biofuel" is included in the definition of a substitute fuel, which in turn is included within the definition of mineral oil. Section 95(4) of the Finance Act, 1999 states that substitute fuel used as a propellant shall be subject to mineral oil tax at the appropriate rate.
Under the provisions of Article 8(4) of Directive 92/81/EEC, member states may be authorised to introduce exemptions from the payment of excise duty or to reduce the amount of excise duty payable on mineral oil products for specific policy considerations. Such new derogations under the directive require a proposal from the Commission, which follows on from a comprehensive review of the proposal by the Commission services, and then the unanimous agreement at Council level. In practice the Commission will now propose derogations only for a fixed period of time.
