The DfT aims to make the registration and reporting process as clear and easy as possible for all suppliers. In this section you will find information about the important, basic processes fuel suppliers will be involved with, including registration and obligations.

• How do I know if I'm obligated?
• What are the benefits of registration?
• How do I register?

How do I know if I'm obligated?

The RTFO Order 2007 says:

"A renewable transport fuel obligation is imposed on every transport fuel supplier who in a specified period -


(a) owns relevant hydrocarbon oil at the time when the requirement to pay duty of excise with which the oil is chargeable takes effect, and


(b) supplies that oil at or for delivery to places in the United Kingdom. This obligation does not apply to a transport fuel supplier who, in a specified period, supplies less than 450,000 litres in total of the oil (a 'non-obligated' supplier)".

You are obligated as of April 15 each year if:

You do one or more of the following, and the annual total volume of relevant hydrocarbon oils in these activities is 450,000 litres or more

• Produce petrol and / or diesel in the UK and supply it across the duty point into the UK market
• Import petrol and / or diesel into the UK and supply it across the duty point into the UK market
• Purchase petrol and / or diesel in a UK "tax warehouse" and supply it across the duty point into the UK market

For more information about obligated suppliers, please consult the Technical Guidance for Fossil Fuel Suppliers.

What are the benefits of registration?

Any company supplying over 450,000 litres of fossil fuel per annum for road transport becomes obligated under the RTFO and these companies must register with the DfT. However, any company that owns biofuel for use in road transport as it crosses the UK duty point, regardless of its size, is eligible to claim Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates (RTFCs), which may be traded. This means that even the smallest biofuel producers may claim certificates and these can potentially be sold to obligated companies that may then use them to meet their obligation.

There is no guaranteed value to RTFCs. Rather, the value is set entirely by the market. From April 2010, the 20p duty incentive that has previously been available to biofuel ended (except for biodiesel from used cooking oil which continues until April 2012). At that point, the potential income stream represented by the awarding of RTFCs will become the main Government support mechanism for biofuels in the UK.

How do I register?

If you would like to register for the RTFO please contact RTFO@​dft.​gsi.​gov.​uk or call 020 7944 8239 to request the link to the RTFO operating system (ROS).

What information you will need to register:

• Full legal name of your organisation
• Companies House number and date of incorporation (if your organisation is a company) The legal status of your organisation (e.g. plc, limited company, partnership, sole trader etc)
• VAT number if you have one
• Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC) certificate number, if your organisation has one
• Full contact details for the organisation, yourself and the director.

We will also require individual proofs of identity for at least one director who will be responsible for ensuring the organisation is fully compliant with the RTFO.

Biofuel suppliers are advised that in order to qualify for Renewable Certificates, the fuel that they supply needs to meet the criteria set out in the the Hydrocarbon Oils Duty Act 1979.