Committee announces inquiry into fuel laundering and smuggling

Fuel is smuggled across the border to exploit the differential in duty rates. Fuel is stretched by the addition of other low duty fuels such as kerosene. Fuel can also be laundered so low duty fuels such as red diesel are adulterated and passed off as a higher duty fuel.

The Committee welcomes submissions on all aspects of fuel laundering and smuggling in Northern Ireland. In particular, the Committee is interested in:

• The amount and extent of fuel laundering and smuggling in Northern Ireland;
• The impact of the border with the Republic of Ireland on this illicit trade, including the impact of devolution of justice and policing on cross border liaison to counter fuel laundering and smuggling;
• The role and effectiveness of the Organised Crime Task Force, and other ways to ease coordination between organisations involved in the fight against organised crime;
• The extent to which organised crime gangs profit from this loss to HM Revenue & Customs;
• Other smuggling activity that the same organised crime gangs might be involved in;
• The effectiveness of measures to counter fuel laundering and smuggling;
• The number of arrests, prosecutions, fines, confiscations, and other sanctions, aimed at punishing and deterring those involved in fuel laundering and smuggling;
• The technologies that are currently available, or being examined, by HMRC and other to address this problem; and
• The damage to the environment as a result of the fuel laundering process.

The Committee invites any individual or organisation with an interest in this matter to submit written evidence in accordance with the guidelines stated below. Each submission should:

• Be no more than 3,000 words in length;
• Have numbered paragraphs; and
• Be in Word format or a rich text format with as little use of colour or logos as possible. Please do not send PDFs.

A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to northircom@parliament.uk marked "Fuel laundering and smuggling" and should arrive by Wednesday 31 August 2011.

If you wish to submit a paper copy, in addition to the electronic version, it should be sent to:

The Clerk of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
House of Commons
7 Millbank
London
SW1P 3JA