Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content)(Amendment) Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on 4th December 2007.

Amendment of the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999

2. —(1)The Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations 1999( 2 ) shall be further amended as follows.

(2) For regulation 3 substitute—

“ Interpretation of requirements relating to petrol and diesel fuel

3. —(1) A reference in this Part to the need for petrol or diesel fuel to comply with a specified requirement is to be construed in accordance with this regulation.

(2) Unless it is petrol to which paragraph (8) applies, before 1st January 2009 petrol complies with the winter petrol requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex III of the Directive, but with the qualification that—

(a) the requirement of the parameter “Vapour pressure, summer period” does not apply, and

(b) it may have 50 mg/ kg as its maximum sulphur content.

(3) If it is petrol to which paragraph (8) applies, or in any case on or after 1st January 2009, petrol complies with the winter petrol requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex III of the Directive, but with the qualification that—

(a) the requirement of the parameter “Vapour pressure, summer period” does not apply, and

(b) its maximum sulphur content must be 10 mg/kg.

(4) Unless it is petrol to which paragraph (8) applies, before 1st January 2009 petrol complies with the summer petrol requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex III of the Directive, but with the qualification that it may have—

(a) 50 mg/kg as its maximum sulphur content; and

(b) a vapour pressure not exceeding 70 kPa.

(5) If it is petrol to which paragraph (8) applies, or in any case on or after 1st January 2009, petrol complies with the summer petrol requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex III of the Directive, but with the qualification that—

(a) its maximum sulphur content must be 10 mg/kg; and

(b) it may have a vapour pressure not exceeding 70 kPa.

(6) Unless it is diesel fuel to which paragraph (8 ) applies, before 1st January 2009 diesel fuel complies with the diesel fuel requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex IV of the Directive, with the qualification that its maximum sulphur content may be 50 mg/kg.

(7) If it is diesel fuel to which paragraph (8) applies, or in any case on or after 1st January 2009, diesel fuel complies with the diesel fuel requirement if its composition and content meet the environmental specifications in Annex IV of the Directive, with the qualification that its maximum sulphur content must be 10 mg/kg.

(8) This paragraph applies to super unleaded petrol or diesel fuel sold at a filling station before 1st January 2009 if—

(a) it is sold in 2007 and the total amount of petrol and diesel fuel sold at that filling station in 2006 was not less than 3 million litres, or

(b) it is sold in 2008 and the total amount of petrol and diesel fuel sold at that filling station in 2007 was not less than 3 million litres.

(9) In this regulation “super unleaded petrol” means petrol that has—

(a) a research octane number of not less than 97 measured in accordance with the Test Method specified for research octane number in Annex III of the Directive; and

(b) a motor octane number of not less than 86 measured in accordance with the Test Method specified for motor octane number in Annex III of the Directive. ” .

(3) For regulation 6(4) substitute—

“ (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 5(1) a person may, between 1st January and 31st May 2009, sell petrol which does not comply with the winter petrol requirement if—

(a) the composition and content of the petrol meet the environmental specifications in Annex III of the Directive with the qualification that —

(i) the requirement of the parameter “Vapour pressure, summer period” does not apply, and

(ii) it may have 50 mg/kg as its maximum sulphur content; and

(b) the petrol has been stored at the filling station at which it is sold in a filling station tank to which fewer than three deliveries of petrol have been made after 31st December 2008. ” .