MANY CLAIMS FOR PETROL REFUNDS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18643, 24 December 1928, Page 3

MANY CLAIMS FOR PETROL REFUNDS.

MOTOR REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT’S TASK. (Special to the “Star.”) WELLINGTON, December 23. The many uses of petrol, the great variety in the claims made for refunds under the Motor Spirits Taxation Act of 1927, and the surprising extent to which petrol is used for purposes other than transport, were made apparent to an “Evening Post” reporter by the courtesy of the special branch of the Motor Registration Department of the Post Office which deals with the claims. For the first three quarters of the current year 6375 different persons have made claims for refunds. The amounts paid out for each quarter, with part of the payments for the September quarter, are as follows:

totals ±u,b9i> aa.aay iv n In the case of the September quarter the total applications approved was 4121, but to date only 3538 have been actually paid, 583 applications being in the process of payment. Allowing an average of £3 a claim, the total refunds paid for September quarter will be a record quarter up to the present. SEASONAL OCCUPATIONS. Many factors prevent a comparison of any valpe at present, however. Seasonal occupations play a large part in the consumption of petrol, ignorance of the possibility of refunds may have lessened the applications in the first quarter, and two years’ complete figures will be necessary before a reliable analysis is possible. The weather during each quarter has a lot to do with the extent of use in outdoor occupations. The December quarter will probably be higher than the September, as better weather will enable more work to be done by county councils and others. In the wifiter there is a certain amount of fair weather, but launches are not used as much for pleasure and there is more weather in which the fishermen cannot put out. Many pleasure launches are laid up altogether for the winter. Even in the Marlborough Sounds, where the weather affects the launches less than elsewhere, there is noticeable a falling off in use in the winter. Dairying again is a seasonal occupation. During the light winter months many farmers resort to hand milking, and cut off the milking engine altogether. April, May and June show very small returns of petrol used for milking. Some farmers dry off altogether. Ploughing, chaff-c.utting, hay-making, etc., all have an influence on the petrol used in farm work. Shearing machines also swell the total. A somewhat bucolic sense of humour was shown by one farmer requested to give further details of petrol used in farm work, who included ‘pulling the skins off dead cows.”

GREAT AND SMALL. The smallest refund sought was in the case of lighting, the claim being io.' *d. One lighting claim, however, on the face of it suspicious. The quarter's refund was for 300 ga oils, but for the dark days of winter ending June 360 gallons was the total put down to household lighting. This was extraordinary, but more extraordinary still was the fact that it was absolutely correct. The June quarter refund was £6, but it was quite justified. Investigation showed that the applicant was a well-to-do farmer in the gloomy South. He had thirty-five rooms in the house, in some of which were as many as six lighting points, and with the outbuildings he had a total of eighty-five lighting points. He was, moreover, of a hospitable disposition, and entertained freely. PRECAUTIONS. Refunds are made only to the actual user, and the certificate he has to sign is so definite that there is small room for abuse. The great majority of claimants have proved thoroughly honest in their claims, but there have been prosecutions for wrong statements of the period of use, but the latest certificate leaves no room for misapprehension. The application must be made in the month following the quarterly period in respect of which it is made, the petrol must have been used by the applicant (which disposes of applications by agents who propose to refund the money to the users), a special declaration is required in the case of agricultural tractors (which are large users) that the tractor is not used on the roads except for the conveyance of farm implements from farm to farm, and proof of the purchase of the motor spirit by the consumer must be attached to the application—where possible, the receipted invoice. The declaration to be made before a. Justice of the Peace or other specified persons is in a form that induces accuracy in all particulars, and a claim false in any material particular renejiers the applicant liable on conviction to a fine of £SO or imprisonment. In the circumstances the absence of fraudulent applications is intelligible.

RARE BRANDS. Amongst the spirits named in the applications there are many quite, unknown to the man on the street, but, as the 39 brands of first grade spirit and the five brands of distillates in respect of which claims have been made include power kerosenes bearing the same brand (non-dutiable products on •which no refunds are allowed), care has to be exercised by those handling the applications. Applications in regard to small quantities are quite frequent, and there have been several instances of persons concluding their totals with half, third, and even quarter-

gallons of petrol. Quite a number of people have also tried to get a refund on American gallons, in place of Imperial gallons, a procedure in favour of the applicant. Some applicants' sought a refund on spirit purchased prior to January 7, 1928, the date oil which the petrol duty was passed on to thk public, many of them no doubt in ignorance. Oil companies did not pass it on to their consumers until January 7. Adding to the number of wellknown brands of petrol, some automobile associations, which are supplying their members, have invented their FOR MANY PURPOSES. Refunds are permissible in respect of petrol used in tractors used on golf courses. Quite a number of rail tractors are in use in the timber industry in the bush camps, and these also get the refund on petrol. In the case of Government vehicles, whether rail or road, applications have to be made just the same as in the case of private persons. Aeroplanes are allowed a refund, and there have been applications in this respect. Some uses of petrol which are not generally recognised, and which in some cases are considerable, were cited. In the cleaning of clothes one large concern used 3060 gallons in the June quarter. This is a large quantity when it is considered that the spirit is used over and over again. Even such small users as tailors get through eight gallons a quarter. Petrol used in the making of paint totals

1300 gallons a quarter in the case of one big concern, and it is used to quite an appreciable extent by the meat packing companies in the process which gives the bronze paint finish to the tins. Engineers use it in considerable quantities for cleaning the dirt from engines and parts. Refunds are allowed also in the case of ditching plants, concrete mixers, elevators, etc. Petrol, apart from motor launches, is not widely used at sea in New Zealand, but there is one coastal shipping company using internal combustion engines which disposes of a considerable quantity during the year. Exemption is also granted by way of refund in the case of farmers who use petrol in the destruction of noxious weeds.

1928. AppliAmount cations £ s. d. March quarter . .. 3921 11,473 6 0 June quarter 3236 10,575 3 9 September quarter 3538 11,291 10 2 Totals 10.695 33.339 19 11