Nearly 2,000 motorists were caught driving illegally with rebated fuel, commonly known as "red diesel" in 2022, figures from the Federal Public Service (FPS) for Finance show.
Red diesel is only intended for tractors and agricultural machinery and is a lot cheaper than other fuel because it is not subject to excise duty. While those driving regular cars or trucks are not allowed to use it, many still take a risk by filling up their tank for less money.
However, the authorities regularly carry out controls and hundreds of violations are detected every year.
In 2021, the number of infringements increased sharply. Rising diesel prices may have had something to do with it, but customs officials have also incorporated previous offences into their databases to target potential repeat offenders using license plate scanners.
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The number of detected breaches also continued to rise over the course of 2022, as the energy crisis saw fuel prices skyrocket; preliminary figures show that 1,982 drivers (of 27,541 vehicles checked) were caught driving with red diesel.
In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, between 1,000 and 1,200 drivers were caught every year.
