In some European countries such as the UK and the Netherlands, cranes and agricultural machinery have been exempt from some fuel tax. To prevent unscrupulous lorry or car drivers from using the fuel, it is dyed red.
On July 1, three Dutch government proposals are due to come into effect. Cranes that ride on the road would no longer be able to use red diesel for road travel, although they can when they work on job sites. As of 3 June, the cost difference between red and white diesel is 18 cents per litre, according to Marco van Keulen, crane director at Dutch rental company Koninklijke Saan. The government is also increasing tax on white diesel by 3 cents/litre, and discontinuing tax discounts on diesel bought in large volumes.
The change would hit crane rental companies there hard. “From 1 January until now, our fuel expenses have increased 50%,” said van Keulen.
This change would make the situation worse. VVT Director Lion Verhagen said that the change is likely to cause “much secondary damage” to companies.
“We have spoken to the Ministry of Finance to change it, but we have not received a good reply. We are now so late that there is so little understanding from the Ministry that we have had to choose the final stage, to go to court,” he told Cranes Today.
Verhagen said that he hopes to get a delay in the measure, or have it taken off the table completely.
He said that there has been “absolutely no consultation” with industry about the proposed change.
He said he is not only concerned about the financial effects, but also about enforcement. “The possibility is very great that when the police officers stop a crane, even if its tank has been filled with white diesel, it will have traces of red diesel in it, and it will be fined. Other crane companies have large tank facilities, and they will have to change from red to white, and that will cause problems.”
He said that in the Netherlands, it is possible to sue the government to question legislation.
“Our lawyer thinks that we have a 20% chance of winning. I come from a different point of view and I am a little more optimistic. I think that we have a good case on paper. But most of the time these parties go to the judge in court, they lose, because the legislation passed through the national assembly in the normal process.”
But Netherlands law expedites urgent cases, so Verhagen is confident that the VVT’s challenge will be heard within three weeks. “If everything goes all right, before July 1 this issue will be in court.”
A Dutch government spokesman said that the measure was part of a broad package to tax environmentally-unfriendly fuels. He confirmed that it had not consulted with the VVT about the measure, but it did consult with Dutch business confederation VNO-NCW. Other vehicles affected by the change are fire trucks, rubbish trucks and highway construction vehicles. Agricultural vehicles will continue to be able to run on red diesel.
The UK Construction Plant-Hire Association successfully fought off a UK government attempt to change the rules on red diesel three years ago.
Rising fuel costs are becoming a big problem for crane rental companies. In his keynote speech at the ESTA Awards ceremony, president Christian-Jacques Vernazza said, “I am somewhat worried about the increase of the fuel which can affect the profitability of our industry. Unfortunately, the users have not yet been in a position, up until now, to increase their prices at the same speed level as the manufacturers have been doing it over the last years.”
