S.I. No. 333/1988 - European Communities (Substitute Fuel Components in Petrol) Regulations, 1988.

S.I. No. 333 of 1988.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SUBSTITUTE FUEL COMPONENTS IN PETROL) REGULATIONS, 1988.

I, MICHAEL SMITH, T.D., Minister for Energy, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 85/536/EEC of 5th December 1985¹ hereby make the following Regulations:

¹O.J. No. L334 of 12-12-85.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities Substitute Fuel Components in Petrol) Regulations, 1988.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 12th day of December, 1988.

2. (1) In these Regulations—

"the Annex" means the Annex to the Council Directive;

"authorised officer" means a person appointed by the Minister to be an authorised officer for the purpose of these Regulations;

"B.S. 4040:1988" means British Standard Specification for leaded petrol (gasoline) for motor vehicles, published by the British Standards Institution in the year 1988;

"B.S. 7070:1988" means British Standard Specification for unleaded petrol (gasoline) for motor vehicles, published by the British Standards Institution in the year 1988;

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive 85/536/EEC;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Energy;

"oxygenate" means organic oxygenate compound.

(2) A word of expression used in these Regulations and in the Council Directive has the meaning in these Regulations that it has in the Council Directive, unless the contrary intention appears.

3. Blended petrol that contains oxygenates shall not be sold or offered for sale—

(a) if the oxygenates do not comply with the Annex,

(b) if the petrol does not comply with the second sentence of Article 1 of the Council Directive,

(c) if components other than the oxygenates specified in Section 1 of the Annex are used as additives to the petrol at concentrations of or exceeding 0.5 per cent (by volume), or

(d) in the case of petrol that contains oxygenates specified in Section I of the Annex in proportions higher than the limits specified in column B of Section II of the said Annex and is sold or offered for sale to the general public from a pump, unless Article 3 of the Council Directive is complied with in relation to the pump.

4. For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) the presence of oxygenates in petrol shall be determined by the method specified in Appendix B to B.S. 4040:1988 and Appendix B to B.S. 7070:1988,

(b) the quantity of any oxygenate in petrol shall be determined by the method specified in Appendix C to B.S. 4040:1988 and Appendix C to B.S. 7070:1988, and

(c) results obtained pursuant to paragraph (a) and (b) of this Regulation shall be interpreted by the method specified in International Standard 4259:1979 for the determination and application of precision data in relation to methods of test for petroleum products, published by the International Standards Organisation in the year 1979.

5. An authorised officer may at any reasonable time enter and inspect any premises in which he has reasonable grounds for believing that petrol is being sold or offered for sale and may take samples of any such petrol which he finds in the course of his inspection.

6. An authorised officer shall be furnished with a warrant of appointment as an authorised officer and when exercising any power conferred on him by these Regulations shall, if requested by any person concerned, produce the warrant to that person.

7. A person who contravenes Regulation 3 or 4 of these Regulations or who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer when he is exercising a power conferred on him by these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

8. An offence under these Regulations may be prosecuted by the Minister.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 9th day of December, 1988.

MICHAEL SMITH, T.D.,

Minister for Energy.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations give effect to Council Directive 85/536/EEC of 5 December 1985 on crude oil savings through the use of substitute fuel components in petrol.