Skip to main content
Taxation and Customs Union

Fiscal marking of gas oils and kerosene

Fiscal marking of gas oils and kerosene

Council Directive 95/60/EC on fiscal marking of gas oils and kerosene provides a common marking system to identify gas oil and kerosene subject to a reduced excise rate. This includes for example mineral oils used as propellants.

The aim of this marking is to prevent tax evasion and ensure the proper functioning of the internal market. The rules are without prejudice to national provisions on fiscal marking.

The Commission contracted an external consultant to prepare a background study for the evaluation of Directive 95/60/EC.
The final evaluation report was published in 2018.

Building on the findings of the study the Commission services prepared their own evaluation of the working of the Directive.

The evaluation confirmed that the Euromarker Directive has mostly achieved its original objectives as set out by the legislators and it has done so in an effective and efficient manner. At the same time the evaluation confirmed some shortcomings with the robustness of the chemical substance currently used as Euromarker and noted that ad better performing fiscal marker that is more robust and resilient to removal from the marked fuels could help boost the role of the Directive as an anti-fraud instrument.

Solvent Yellow 124 – Euromarker

A 2004 Commission study looked at how to establish a harmonised Community reference method of analysis for the Euromarker (Solvent Yellow 124) for laboratory tests. Member States agreed to use it as a common reference method in their analyses. This method has improved the comparability of the results of tests carried out by different Member States.

Related links