On 25 Oct 2008, at 18:33, John Slee wrote:
> I am just checking your assumptions, so that I understand what using
> it would say, to HMRC, are the assumptions I accept.
>
> You seem to be saying:
> Assuming I need to generally run my engine (as a generator) for
> charging my batteries for 4 hours (in my case), when cruising for 4
> hours or less, 50% of my usage is for propulsion, 50% is for domestic.
> Anything over 4 hours, 100% is for propulsion.
> Is that your assumption?
>
That's right; obviously the percentage can be tweaked in the formula
if needed.
> I wonder if engine hours in locks could also be considered as 100%
> non-propulsion? Thus if I record how many locks I cruise in a day, and
> divide by 3 (since a lock is generally considered to take the same
> time as a mile) I can subtract that (number of hours)/2 from the
> propulsion total.
>
That's an interesting question. We've not followed that route, though
I mnow of at least one boater who uses his GPS to measure exactly how
long he was actually moving.
> Can you point us to the HMRC, or any other, website that explains what
> is going to be allowable under each heading?
I haven't been able to find anything on the HMRC website yet;
googling HMRC red diesel only produces the various press releases and
related web pages from last September. Our assumptions are based on
A) THe press release from BMF/IWA et al on the subject, which states
quite clearly that only diesel used for propulsion will attract the
higher duty
B) A posting here earlier this year from someone who'd had a
conversation with an HMRC inspector whilst he was fuelling at Wheaton
Aston, in which it had been confirmed that it was legit to split the
consumption whilst underway between propulsion use and domestic use.
C) A posting here, I think by Tony Brooks, estimating that the
typical modern high output alternator puts as much load on the engine
as the prop at low speeds.
I've tried to trawl the archive for the posts referred to above, but
of course our convention of bottom posting, and poor discipline in
renaming thread subjects makes it really difficult to find a
particular post.
Use of this spreadsheet and its predecessors shows that in the
summer, when boating a lot, we never got below 58% domestic use, and
we are currently running at around 80% domestic on our winter
cruising pattern (ie stay in one place for a few days then boat for a
few).
All the best
Bruce
There are no strangers on the cut, only boaters we've yet to meet.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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