HCOTEG38000 - Relevant Law: EU Directive 2003/96 of 27 October 2003 (Energy Products Directive)

The information provided below was written when the UK was still a member of the EU, prior to the UK’s exit on 1 January 2021. Some of the information is still relevant to Northern Ireland as a consequence of the Northern Ireland Protocol. The information is also retained here as it may be useful to understand its background and influence over some of the policies, practices, and principles you will see set-out in UK legislation.

Energy Products Directive (EPD)

‘on the restructuring of the Community Framework for the taxation of Energy Products & Electricity’.

Introduces taxation on energy products, and on electricity including the use of mineral oils. Annexe II deals with reduced rates of taxation and exemptions from such taxation referred to in Article 18(1).

The Directive covers the following issues (previously contained in Directives 92/81 and 92/82/EEC).

• Restructures the community framework for the taxation of energy products
• Clarifies what products are subject to control as oil
• Defines the circumstances in which relief from excise duty can be allowed
• Covers the procedure known as Standard Temperature Accounting (STA)
• The minimum rates of duty the Member States who have been permitted to defer introduction of these rates

The full body of the text can be found using Lex-Nex on the website.