Rising heating costs prompt cross border oil rush

A fuel supplier just North of the border has said that the majority of his customers for home heating oil (kerosene) are from the Republic, many of them from County Cavan. Thomas Cassidy of Cassidy's Topaz fuels on the Derrylin Road, Ballyconnell, has said that despite laws around the importation of such fuels, homeowners do not appear to be deterred. While it is apparently not illegal to purchase or transport the fuel, the law dictates that those importing it are obliged to declare it and pay the taxes appropriate in this State. The rising cost of fuel and the economic climate, it would appear, are the two main factors driving homeowners up North for their home heating oil. Surveying principle oil distributors both sides of the border, the average price of a 1,000 litre tank of home heating oil in the Cavan area, taking account of the differing tax regimes, is approximately €880 inclusive of VAT. That is about €85 more than in Northern Ireland. Thomas Cassidy finds himself in the unique position whereby he has premises on both sides of the border, in fact, within metres of each other either side of the divide, he told The Anglo-Celt. "We've the filling station in the North leased out to another company and we operate the station here in the south on a full-time basis. We would sell Kerosene from a truck here on a daily basis and do home deliveries, but if you were to go and collect it yourself from us across the border there it makes a hell of a difference in the price." Advertising exclusively in euros, Tommy has seen a steady stream of customers traverse geographical and diplomatic boundaries in search of the best deal available in home heating oil, a scene he says is repeated across all the Border counties and not just Cavan. "I was in Strabane recently and saw a stream of vehicles pulling up for kerosene, all of them southern reg. But you can't blame them when it's there and at a much cheaper price. People are more inclined to buy it in five gallon drums at the moment simply because they can't afford the bigger orders of 500 or 1000 litres. "The way I would've seen it over the years here down through the years is when prices were cheaper here than over the Border the government didn't want to do anything about it because of all the VAT and duty they were collecting on it," said Mr Cassidy. A spokesperson for Customs and Revenue this week explained this week that there is currently no prohibition on the importation of kerosene into the State from Northern Ireland. However, the application of a reduced rate in Mineral Oil Tax means oil must be marked with a declaration to that effect provided upon importation into the State. Oil properly marked in accordance with the regulations is €38.02 per thousand litres, while oil not marked the tax applicable is €479.02 per thousand litres. Any kerosene illegally imported into the State is liable to forfeiture along with the conveyance used to transport the oil. To date, in the first three-months of this year there have been five seizures of kerosene in the border area.