Hydrocarbon Oil Duty

A further £3.9 billion is raised from the VAT on the duty, contributing some 3.5 per cent of total UK tax revenues.

The Finance Act 1910 (the so-called People's Budget) introduced a petrol duty in the UK for the first time.

The escalator was effectively cancelled by the Brown ministry follow severe disruption caused by the fuel tax protests in 2000.

[4] A planned 3.02p/litre rise which was confirmed by the 2012 United Kingdom budget to come into effect on 1 August 2012[6] was later deferred until 1 January 2013 at short notice.

[13] In 2001 it was proposed that long-distance scheduled coach services should receive the rebate in return for offering half-price fares to older and disabled passengers.

[17] Trains are allowed to use red diesel and rebated biodiesel, as they are included in the category of "Any vehicle designed to be operated on a railway" and in the list of exempted machines.

[15][18][19] As a result, fuel for passenger services is just taxed at the marked gas oil (red diesel) rate.

[20] To incentivise the use of cleaner fuels in trains, the duty was reduced from 53p to 8p for blends of red diesel and biodiesel used in approved pilot schemes in the Budget 2007.