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Explanatory note

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/3107) (“the 1999 Regulations”).

These Regulations transpose the changes to Annexes I and II of Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13th October 1998 relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels (OJ L 350, 28.12.1998, p58) made by Commission Directive 2011/63/EU (OJ No L 147, 2.6.2011, p15) (“the 2011 Directive”). The 2011 Directive updates footnotes in Annexes I and II of Directive 98/70/EC so as to reference the latest versions of the industry fuel standards EN228 and EN590. These standards are referenced to define the methods used for testing whether fuels comply with the specifications listed in the respective Annexes.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 2 of the 1999 Regulations to update references to Directive 98/70/EC so as to capture the amendments made by the 2011 Directive and to insert a definition of “other liquid fuel”.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 5B of the 1999 Regulations to update the reference to the Merchant Shipping Notice on Categorisation of Waters so that it refers to the latest version of that Notice.

Regulation 5 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within five years after they come into force and within every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument would be needed to revoke the Regulations or to amend them.

A Transposition Note in respect of Commission Directive 2011/63/EU has been laid before each House of Parliament.

An impact assessment has not been produced as this instrument changes only minor technical details of the 1999 Regulations to bring them into line with current industry practice and so no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen. An Explanatory Memorandum is available alongside the instrument on the UK legislation website, www.legislation.gov.uk.

A copy of the Directives referred to in this Explanatory Note may be obtained from the Office of Public Sector Information or viewed in the Official Journal of the European Union via the EUR-Lex website at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/.

Merchant Shipping Notices are published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and can be viewed on the Agency’s website at http://www.dft.gov.uk/mca/ which also has details of any amendments or replacements.