A farmer who hires his neighbour a tractor in future will have to gain approval as a 'fuel dealer' from HM Customs and Excise if the vehicle has any fuel in its tank, according to new rules due to come in on April1.

The rule will also affect equipment hire companies who supply equipment or vehicles containing kerosene or red diesel.

The legislation, originally intended to license bulk suppliers of red diesel and kerosene initially received a broad approval, but the publication of the guidelines by HM Customs and Excise on how it intends to apply and implement the registration scheme have been described by the NFU as 'ludicrous'.

NFU technical chairman Marcus Themas said that the NFU would be appealing against the 'over zealous' interpretation of the rule by HM Customs and Excise.

Themas said: 'Of course we understand the need to stop any widespread abuse of the system, but this interpretation of the law beggars belief. It is entirely disproportionate to the level of fraud risk.

'This interpretation is so ridiculous one could be forgiven for thinking that the introduction of this on April 1 were some sort of April Fool's joke.' The guidelines states that farmers will be exempt from registration only if they hire vehicles with an operator – contractors are exempt – or lend vehicles with an empty fuel tank.

They may provide the vehicle with fuel without needing to re gister, but only if it is in a pre-packaged container, not exceeding 20 litres.