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Retail scheme basics

The Fuel Subsidy was abolished on 1 July 2009.

Who was a retailer?

You were a retailer if you:

  • sold fuel to the public from or through a fixed site in Queensland on or before 30 June 2009
  • owned the fuel you sold.

Examples included:

  • service stations that were franchisees or independent owner operators
  • distributors or fuel companies that operated, or consigned fuel to, a retail site for sale to the public.

How the scheme worked

As a fuel retailer, you must have:

  • been licensed with us to receive the subsidy
  • have bought your fuel at the unsubsidised price and then claimed the subsidy from us for your retail fuel sales made on or before 30 June 2009
  • passed that subsidy on to motorists by reducing your ordinary selling price by 8.354 cents per litre
  • been able to show us that you have passed on the subsidy (see Record-keeping requirements).

The subsidy was generally paid in advance before the sales month started.

To help with the cost of administering the scheme, the Queensland Government paid fuel retailers 8.4 cents per litre.

How much fuel was subsidised?

You could claim the subsidy for a maximum of 2,000 litres of fuel per vehicle per day.

See Practice Direction NFSS 5.1—Meaning of 'retail quantity' for the retail scheme (PDF 165 K) for more information. 

Diesel used for a commercial off-road purpose

As a retailer, you were not obliged to check whether fuel was being purchased for an off-road diesel purpose, or question your customers’ entitlement to the subsidy. Instead, retail consumers were required to tell you if they were buying diesel to be used for a commercial off-road purpose. In those situations, you must have:

  • stated the total quantity of fuel sold and the quantity of fuel that was unsubsidised on the sales receipt you issued to your customer
  • kept a record of the unsubsidised fuel
  • excluded this fuel from your subsidy claims.

It was your business decision what price you charged for this sale.

See Off-road diesel users for more information.

Top call centre questions

When do I stop being entitled to receive the fuel subsidy?

Retail fuel sold up to and including 30 June 2009 will be eligible for the subsidy. However, you must pass on the full benefit of the subsidy to your retail customers for those sales.

Fuel sales after that date will not be subsidised. We will not pay you a provisional subsidy in June for July sales.

Does the subsidy apply to fuel on hand at midnight on 30 June 2009?

No. As this fuel will be sold after 30 June, no subsidy will be payable on the fuel.

My subsidy entitlement for May 2009 was greater than the provisional subsidy paid to me for that month. When will I receive the extra subsidy?

In the past, if your subsidy entitlement for the month was greater than the provisional subsidy paid to you for the month, this would usually be reconciled and adjusted as part of the following month’s provisional subsidy payment. For example, an underpayment for May would ordinarily have been included as part of the provisional subsidy paid on 25 June. 

The abolition of the subsidy from 1 July 2009 means that there will be no provisional subsidy payment made in June for July. We will pay the extra subsidy to you on 25 June by electronic transfer to your bank account.

What happens if my subsidy entitlement for May 2009 was less than the provisional subsidy paid to me for that month?

As there is no provisional subsidy being paid in June for July, we will issue you an invoice. The invoice will state the amount to be repaid and the date by which you must repay the subsidy.

When does my June claim have to be lodged?

The June claim is due by 14 July 2009.

How will my final June subsidy entitlement be worked out?

Your final June subsidy will be dealt with in the same way as your claim for May. When you lodge your June claim by 14 July, we will work out the actual subsidy entitlement for the month. If this is more than the provisional subsidy you received for June, we will pay you the difference by electronic transfer to your bank account by 25 July 2009. If it is less than the June provisional subsidy, we will issue you an invoice, advising when you must repay the amount.

Do I need to do anything when the subsidy ends at midnight on 30 June 2009?

You should make a record of fuel on hand and pump meter readings as at midnight on 30 June 2009 for record keeping purposes. No subsidy may be claimed for this fuel.

Do I need to lodge a return for 2008–09?

Yes. The 2008–09 return is due by 1 August 2009.

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Last reviewed 9 October 2009

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