The systematic selling of illicit fuel through retail outlets and its use in the transport sector is close to being fully eliminated, according to Revenue.
Since 2016, Revenue has carried out an annual sampling programme to determine the extent to which laundered road diesel is found in licensed fuel outlets.
The National Oil Random Sampling Programme was extended to include transport sector traders in 2018.
It focuses mostly on forecourt retailers and fuel distributors and transport sector traders.
The samples are tested for the presence of Accutrace, a colourless marker with chemical properties similar to diesel but resistant to conventional dye-washing laundering methods.
Since 2015, Accutrace is required to be added, in addition to the existing mineral oil marker dyes, to any supply of rebated fuel in the Republic of Ireland or the United Kingdom.
Revenue survey
The 2020/2021 sampling programme took place between February 2020 and August 2021.
Of the 4,977 licensed fuel outlets, Revenue selected a random sample of 159 traders with 23 unavailable for testing due to a number of reasons, including having gone out of business.
Of the 136 random samples taken, evidence of laundered fuel was found in just four cases (3%).
Revenue said that it has pursued appropriate follow up action in all cases where detections were made.
Revenue selected 154 of the 6,499 transport sector traders in the country for testing, with 42 initially unavailable to take part, again for a number of reasons, including all vehicles being off-site.
Following repeat visits, there was an effective sample of 112, with no evidence found of misuse of reduced-rate fuel.
“These random sampling exercises, conducted on a national level, provide a powerful and robust measurement of the scale of the selling and use of laundered fuel in the State,” Revenue stated.
It added that the results demonstrate the effectiveness of the various measures implemented in recent years to enhance compliance in the fuel trade.
“The sampling results do not signify the complete elimination of the illicit trade in fuel.
“However, they demonstrate that systematic selling of illicit fuel through retail outlets and its use in the transport sector appears negligible and close to being fully eliminated,” it concluded.