Fuel deliveries and obligations

The annual obligation and the reduction obligation apply to the fuel deliveries made by a company.

These two obligations, however, have different scopes. The annual obligation covers deliveries that qualify as ‘deliveries for final consumption’, and the reduction obligation covers ‘taxed deliveries released for consumption in the transport sector’.

The table below indicates which fuel deliveries are covered by each obligation:

	Annual obligation (release for consumption)	Reduction obligation (release for consumption in transport sector)
Fuel	Diesel Petrol Heavy fuel	Diesel Petrol (LPG/LNG/CNG – voluntary*)
Destination / use in NL	All destinations, with exception of maritime and inland shipping	Road vehicles Non-road mobile machinery Inland ships** Agricultural tractors and forest machinery Pleasure crafts not used at sea

^{* There is no requirement to register LPG/LNG/CNG deliveries because these ‘better’ fossil fuels act as deductible items that reduce the reduction commitment. See also this page on the reduction obligation.

** Deliveries of petrol/diesel to inland shipping will not become subject to the reduction obligation before 2025 (see this letter).}
The fuel deliveries in scope are taxed deliveries released for consumption as defined in Article 2 of the Excise Duty Act.
In addition, references to petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oil in the above table must be read to mean the following:

Petrol: unleaded light oil or mineral oil that is taxed at the rate applicable to unleaded light oil.
Diesel: gas oil or mineral oil that is taxed at the rate applicable to gas oil.
Heavy fuel oil: heavy fuel oil taxed at the rate applicable to heavy fuel oil.

The obligations relate to the entire volume of fuel taxed, including any bio-component that was mixed in.

If the deliveries for final consumption amount to less than 500,000 litres in a calendar year, the company is not subject to the annual obligation.
If the taxed deliveries released for consumption in the transport sector amount to less than 500,000 litres in a calendar year, the company is not subject to the reduction obligation.

Typically, a company will be subject to both obligations. However, the difference in scope between the two obligations means that, in some instances, companies may have an annual obligation but no reduction obligation. Examples includes companies whose deliveries are exclusively intended for non-transport end users, such as fixed installations.

Companies must register their fuel deliveries for the preceding calendar year in the REV before 1 March. For each fuel type, a company must enter the monthly volume of the fuel deliveries and the associated end user. This concerns the entire volume of taxed fuel released for consumption, including any bio-component that was mixed in. The deliveries registered are used to calculate the level of the annual obligation and the reduction obligation.

Companies therefore enter the following in the REV for each month:

The type of fuel and the associated type of end user
The volume delivered:
- For diesel, petrol and heavy fuel oil: in litres at 15°C
- For LNG and LPG: in kilogrammes (voluntary)
- For CNG: Typically in cubic metres (voluntary)
In case of any discrepancy with the excise duty return: the amount of the discrepancy and the reason for it.

When a quantity of diesel or petrol has been purchased inclusive of excise duty and held in an excise warehouse and is then delivered to another licensed excise warehouse keeper under suspension of excise duty , it not permitted to deduct this quantity of diesel or petrol from the taxed fuel deliveries to be registered.

Excise duty return and deductible items

Companies must declare deliveries of transport fuel taxed for use as referred to in Section 2 of the Excise Duty Act to the Tax and Customs Administration.

The assumption in the Energy for Transport legislation and regulations is that the quantities of petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oil that have been released for consumption and which companies must therefore report in an excise duty return are fully within scope of the obligations. This means the volumes of petrol, diesel and heavy fuel oil declared in the excise duty return should match the volumes to be registered in the REV.

There are exceptional circumstances in which there may be discrepancies between the excise duty return and the entries in the REV. In this event, the company must report this in the monthly entries in the REV. The company will need to be able to justify a delivery or a part thereof is not covered under the obligations. This requires at least an invoice and a payment receipt.

Conversely, for LPG, LNG and CNG, the Energy for Transport legislation and regulations assume that the quantities in the excise duty return have not been delivered to an end user in the transport sector covered by the reduction obligation. This is because these ‘better fossil fuels’ can reduce the reduction obligation.

If a company nonetheless wants to register deliveries of LPG, LNG or CNG in order to reduce the reduction obligation, it will need to show that the delivery has been made to such an end user in the transport sector. This, too, requires at least an invoice and a payment receipt.

Importance of accurate entry

Companies must enter their fuel deliveries for the preceding calendar year in the REV before 1 March. Before this date, companies can still amend their entries. Afterwards, the data are locked and will be used to determine the level of the obligations.

It is key to ensure the data were entered accurately before the latest registration date. The NEa will only agree to change entries in the company’s favour in exceptional circumstances. Companies delivering fuels to types of end users not covered by the obligations will therefore have to process these deliveries in the Registry prior to the deadline. If a company makes incorrect data entries, the NEa will not make corrections that would lower the obligations.

It is therefore important that companies set up their administrative procedures in a way that ensures data are entered accurately and in full. Using the approver’s role in the REV can also help to ensure the accuracy of data. If the account holder has assigned one or more approvers, a second pair of eyes will need to approve the data entered before they are definitively registered. For more information on the approver’s role in the REV, please see this page.

Official correction of incomplete entries

If a company fails to enter its fuel deliveries in the REV before 1 March, the NEa will use data provided by the Tax and Customs Administration to determine the fuel quantities itself (this is known as an official correction).

The NEa is also able to officially correct the quantity of fuel if it is found at a later time (for example during an inspection)the fuel deliveries were not accurately registered. The NEa is able to do this up to 5 years after the calendar year to which the amount relates.

Account in the Energy for Transport Registry

Companies must have an account in the REV to be able to register fuel deliveries. Based on data provided by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the Foundation for Waste and Inland Shipping Documents (Stichting Afvalstoffen en Vaardocumenten Binnenvaart, SAB), the NEa knows which companies are subject to the Energy for Transport obligations and therefore require an REV account.

The NEa will attempt to contact any companies that require an REV according the data held by the Tax and Customs Administration and/or SAB but do not have such an account well before the end of the calendar year. However, the responsibility to arrange an account in good time and comply with the obligations rest with companies themselves.

Companies that believe they are subject to obligations but do not have REV account yet should report this to us at info@emissieautoriteit.nl.

Fuel deliveries and obligations

Mandatory registration of fuel deliveries

Year-end closing

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