Z Energy to get $9.5m repayment from NZ customs

Last September Z said it made a $23 million payment to Customs related to the WOSL fuel terminal and a further $5 million to cover assessed liabilities from other Z terminals. Photo / NZME

Z Energy said its final settlement with the New Zealand Customs Service over the treatment of co-mingled fuels at Wiri Oil Services and other terminals came in at $18.5 million, meaning the service station chain will get back $9.5 million of the amount it paid last year to settle the dispute.

Last September Z said it made a $23 million payment to Customs related to the WOSL fuel terminal and a further $5 million to cover assessed liabilities from other Z terminals.

The company will recognise $13.5 million of the cost in its 2016 financial, having accrued $5 million in the 2015 year, it said.

Last year New Zealand Customs Service looked into what it considered to be unpaid duties on fuel transported from the Whangarei refinery via a pipeline to the Wiri Oil Services terminal in South Auckland, which is jointly owned and operated by Z Energy, BP, Mobil and Chevron.

During the process, some of the fuel was mixed together and then blended back into the petrol and diesel tanks.

Customs charged excise duty on the extra fuel that was blended back into petrol, Wellington-based Z Energy said in a statement at the time.