A cautionary tale for farmstrip and airfield owners

[rogcal]

Looks like using red diesel in machinery used for anything other than agriculture, horticulture and forestry work is illegal and I wonder how many airfield owners are using it in their mowers/tractors to cut the strip:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-13805083

The HMRC are quoted as saying:
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said it was illegal to use it for mowing as it was was purely for agricultural, horticultural and forestry use.

I suppose it could be argued that a farmer who uses his aircraft to inspect his crops and visit other farm strips to discuss and or conduct business concerning agricultural matters could argue that using red diesel in a tractor/mower to cut his strip is incidental to the agricultural business he runs and would therefore be legally entitled to use red diesel for that purpose.

On the face of it, it does look like HMRC are going around in hit squads looking for more than the usual people who use red diesel in their cars, so be warned.

Mowing at night does seems a very good idea!

[Chiltern Aviator]

Sounds like the HMRC are spending pounds to save a penny?

Hey ho

Alan Walker

[Trevor Harvey]

So the farmer who owns & cuts the strip using the same tractor as he uses to cut the hay next to the strip has to drain & refill the tank depending on how short the grass is. Perfectly logical, this is the UK, what do you expect, common sense?

[G.Dawes]

When red diesel is in a tank there is no way to remove the dye and it always shows up how the hell would or could they tell what is in it. Sounds like cobblers from a jobsworth bureaucrat but that is how it is now. All boats now need taxed diesel but the tanks are contaminated with red from before it was required, so they cannot be satisfactorily tested anyway.

[Trevor Harvey]

When red diesel is in a tank there is no way to remove the dye and it always shows up how the hell would or could they tell what is in it. Sounds like cobblers from a jobsworth bureaucrat but that is how it is now. All boats now need taxed diesel but the tanks are contaminated with red from before it was required, so they cannot be satisfactorily tested anyway.

Correct. Therefore when filling the tank a representative from HMRC will have to present to supervise.
This will of course require seven working days notice to HMRC at a cost of £******* & of course yellow jackets will be worn by all personnel within a radius of 100metres.

[Dave Hall]

What? Yellow jackets to be work when refuelling is in progress? Isn't that a no-no, or is that just for AVGAS?