Excise Bulletin

EB 2000/2

Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme

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Date of Issue: 30 June 2000

Contents

• • About this Bulletin

• • Background information - general eligibility for fuel grants

• • What are 'vehicles for carrying passengers or goods'?

• • What if my vehicle is not registered with the State Transport Authority?

• • What if I modify my vehicle so that the GVM changes?

• • What is the relevant weight of a vehicle without a formal GVM?

• • Can I claim the grant if I do not directly purchase the fuel?

• • How can I get more information?

About this Bulletin

The Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme Act 1999 (the Act) allows entities engaged in certain types of road transport to claim a fuel grant to assist with the cost of diesel and certain alternative fuel they purchase and use in carrying on their enterprise operating on public roads in Australia.

This bulletin explains how the Diesel and Alternative Fuels Grants Scheme (the on-road scheme) operates in certain circumstances. You can rely on the information presented in this document which provides advice on the operation of the on-road scheme in relation to:

• a) What is considered to be a 'vehicle for transporting passengers or goods';

• b) How registrations for an entitlement to a fuel grant will be assessed if your vehicle is not registered for use on a public road with the relevant State or Territory transport authority;

• c) What the Australian Taxation Office will consider as the GVM of your vehicle if you have modified your vehicle;

• d) How to calculate the GVM of your vehicle if you do not have one specified by the manufacturer;

• e) Circumstances in which you may still be able to claim a fuel grant, even though you did not directly purchase the fuel.

Additional information on the on-road scheme can be found in the booklet 'Diesel and Alternative Fuel Grants Scheme - Information for Claimants' which can be obtained by calling the Diesel Fuel Infoline on 1300 657 162.

Background information - general eligibility for fuel grants

In general, the grant is available to businesses and other entities for the on-road use of diesel and certain alternative fuels in vehicles that have a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more and are registered for use on public roads.

However, vehicles with a GVM of 4.5 or more tonnes but less than 20 tonnes must be vehicles for transporting passengers or goods (unless the vehicle is an emergency vehicle). In addition, fuel grants are not generally payable for journeys made by vehicles between 4.5 and 20 tonnes that are undertaken wholly within defined metropolitan areas. However, certain classes of vehicles falling within this weight range are eligible for all their on road business operations within a metropolitan area (i.e., emergency vehicles, buses using alternative fuels, or vehicles solely carrying goods or passengers for or on behalf of a primary producer as part of the primary producer's primary production business).

What are 'vehicles for carrying passengers or goods'?

To claim a fuel grant under the on-road scheme, a vehicle with a GVM of more than 4.5 but less than 20 tonnes is required to be a vehicle for transporting passengers or goods, unless it is an emergency vehicle. A vehicle is considered to be a 'vehicle for transporting passengers or goods' if it is not a special purpose vehicle (SPV). A special purpose vehicle is a vehicle which is not built or permanently modified for the primary purpose of carrying passengers or goods.

The following are examples of SPVs:

• • agricultural tractors

• • self-propelled agricultural harvesters

• • bulldozers

• • backhoes

• • graders

• • front-end loaders

• • forklifts

• • straddle carriers

• • mobile cherry pickers

• • mobile cranes

• • truck mounted concrete pumps

• • truck mounted boring plants

• • mobile compressors

• • mobile generators

Trucks, buses and other vehicles clearly designed for transporting passengers or goods are able to claim fuel grants if other requirements of the scheme are met.

The following are included as being 'vehicles for carrying passengers or goods':

• • concrete agitators

• • garbage or waste removal trucks

• • mobile billboards (i.e., a billboard mounted on a truck chassis)

• • mobile libraries

• • mobile workshops and display buses (i.e., a vehicle primarily built to provide on-site repair or to display goods)

• • street/road sweepers with waste carrying capacity

• • tanker trucks fitted with a spray bar (i.e., a vehicle which has been primarily built to carry the contents of its tank but not including any type of agricultural spraying equipment)

• • tow trucks

• • water tankers or sprayers (i.e., a truck based vehicle primarily built to apply water onto road works) but not including any type of agricultural spraying equipment).

What if my vehicle is not formally registered?

To claim a fuel grant under the on-road scheme, a vehicle must be registered for use on public roads. Some vehicles with a GVM of 4.5 tonnes or more can legally operate on public roads under Commonwealth, State or Territory law, without the need for formal registration with State or Territory transport authorities. These vehicles will be considered eligible to register for fuel grants if details of them are held on a register or list of vehicles maintained by a Commonwealth, State or Territory body.

Vehicles which become unregistered during a fuel grant claim period will be ineligible to claim fuel grants for the period that the vehicle is unregistered.

Vehicles operating on a public road only under the authority of a trade plate issued by a State or Territory transport authority will not be eligible for fuel grants. Trade plates are not issued in respect of particular vehicles and are only for limited, temporary operations.

What if I modify my vehicle so that the GVM changes?

Among other things, a vehicle can be registered for entitlement to fuel grants if the vehicle has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more. The GVM of a vehicle which is not a prime mover, is the maximum laden mass specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

However, where:

• • a vehicle has been modified so that the GVM specified by the manufacturer differs from that on the vehicle's registration papers; or

• • the vehicle is an imported vehicle and has a GVM on its Australian Design Rule Plate that is different to the GVM specified by the manufacturer,

the higher of the two GVMs is the relevant GVM under the scheme.

What is the relevant weight of a vehicle without a formal GVM?

Among other things, a vehicle can be registered for entitlement to fuel grants if the vehicle has a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 4.5 tonnes or more. The GVM of a vehicle which is not a prime mover, is the maximum laden mass specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

Under the on-road scheme, if an unmodified vehicle does not have a GVM specified by the manufacturer, the maximum laden mass is the aggregate of the 'tare weight' plus any additional weight required to operate the vehicle and the 'load capacity' as specified by the manufacturer.

For example, if you have a special purpose vehicle with a tare weight of 17 tonnes, but the aggregate of the tare weight, any additional weight required to operate it (such as fuel) and the load capacity is 21 tonnes, the maximum laden mass of the vehicle for the purposes of the on-road scheme is 21 tonnes.

Can I claim the grant if I do not directly purchase the fuel?

Where you have met all of the requirements of the on-road scheme and would otherwise be eligible for a fuel grant but you did not directly purchase the fuel, however you received it as payment or part payment for services rendered, you can claim the fuel grant if you retain documents and record transactions to substantiate your indirect purchase.

For example, if you:

• • receive a fuel voucher

• • use another party's credit card

• • fill up with fuel from another party's bulk storage facility; or

• • use fuel provided without charge under the terms of a contract,

as payment or part payment for services rendered, you will still be considered to have purchased the fuel for the purposes of the on-road scheme.

Where you have met all of the requirements of the on-road scheme and would otherwise be eligible for a fuel grant but you did not directly purchase the fuel, however you reimbursed another party for the fuel, you can claim a fuel grant if you retain documents and record transactions to substantiate your indirect purchase.

For example, where you contract a person to drive your vehicle, that person purchases fuel used in the vehicle and you reimburse them for the cost of the fuel used, you will be able to claim the fuel grant for that fuel.

The amount of fuel grant payable cannot exceed the amount payable by you for the diesel or alternative fuel.

How can I get more information?

If you have any questions or need more help contact the Diesel Fuel Infoline on 1300 657 162.

Commissioner of Taxation
30 June 2000

ATO references:
NO 2000/010839