Those of you that have operated to Austria recently will be only to aware of the measures that Austrian customs authorities are enforcing to ensure that Mineral Oil Tax (MOT) is charged on most Austrian fuel uplifts through their requirement that MOT will be only be exempted or refunded upon production of an invoice or contract with the final customer.
Now, as the majority of business in our industry is supported by brokers, Austria’s requirement relies upon them to either give the operator access to their final invoice, or to support the operators claim by providing customs with a copy of their contract with the final customer. This marks a significant shift in their requirements, making Austria the only European state to introduce such anticompetitive measures.
These measures have created an uneven playing field in our industry and are favouring Austrian operators or those with large fleets who have the capacity to justify being granted permanent exemption certificates by the Austrian authorities, thus depriving our clients of the competition that they deserve.
Our industry must work together here by:
Brokers agreeing to support operators by pledging to supply Austrian customs with copies of their contracts with their clients thus enabling their (operator) clients to deliver the most cost-effective service. Similarly, if an operator contacts a broker requesting support for a claim. Please give it to them!
An industry boycott of operations to Austria is not a solution here as this will only favour those who enjoy the privilege of permanent exemptions.
However, our industry does deserve the support of its industry bodies, EBAA, NBAA et al, who are very willing to accept our subscriptions but slow off the mark when it comes to delivering REAL results when it comes down to a fair playing field.
Please “like” or comment on this post in order to force our industry off the fence and into working for their members.’