A privilege not an entitlement that need not be used. The Aral fuel card allows entitled personnel to purchase tax free fuel. Aral / BP SE charge the national authority an administrative fee of 10.00€ per calendar quarter per card registered as active on any single day within a quarter. This
More than 2400 stations on line
The Aral fuel card is accepted in over 2400+ ARAL controlled fuel stations across Germany only and these are shown on the https://www.aral-fuelcard.com/stationsfinder map. However, there are some privately owned fuel stations that are not controlled by ARAL and do not accept the fuel card. These may include ‘Tank and Rast’ stations currently displaying the ARAL
Applications
The application is completed online, and a valid email address must be submitted as part of the process. The applicant must certify that they have read and understood GEO Force Standing Orders / Instructions (Germany) 1001, on the use of the Aral fuel card and certify that all nominated drivers are SOFA registered entitled family members and that they have completed their European Highway Code (Matrix) Test.
The expiry date can be checked by the main card holder by logging onto their Aral fuel card account https://www.aral-fuelcard.com/login. Information on how to access the website is provided for the customer on initial issue. It is the card holder’s responsibility to ensure that the fuel card expiry date is valid prior to use. No refunds will be given for non-active or out-of-date cards.
The new fuel card will be sent to the main card holder’s administering organisation or National Support Element (NSE) for further distribution or collection. The main card holder will receive an invoice for payment of the initial the annual Aral / BP SE administrative charge €10 per remaining calendar quarters). Invoices that are not paid within 28 days will result in the card being blocked until payment has been confirmed.
Aral annual administrative charges
The supplier Aral / BP SE charge an administrative payment for use of the fuel card per calendar quarter. Any fuel card that is active (available for use) during any period of the calendar quarter (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, and Oct-Dec) will be charged at a standardised rate of €10 per quarter. These payments are billed direct to the contract enabling organisation (GEO) and collected by the GEO in advance on an annual basis. New card holders will only be billed for on initial application for remaining calendar quarters. On de-registration of vehicles through the VLO, card holders will be reimbursed for any unused fuel card payments as part of the deregistration process.
MOD Initial through life management charge
The complete vehicle registration and licensing capability including the provision of the privilege of purchasing tax free fuel for use in privately owned vehicles incurs unavoidable through life management costs. These costs are determined as not being an appropriate charge to the public purse therefore the collective capability must be paid for by the end users. Traditionally and wrongly this cost has been previously presented as the ARAL Fuel card charge, the reason for this is that the same ILS charge was historically a part of the legacy fuel coupon cover charge therefore not evidently present. This is a one off charge set currently at 50.00€ included in the fuel card initial application and invoice.
Off-line stations
When a station is offline, and the card is refused there is an error slip printed from the card reader. This error slip is required for the user to receive a refund of the tax paid. If no error slip is produced then the user should request a stamped and signed, receipt from the service station as proof of purchase.
Refusing to accept the card
Users that have had their Aral fuel card rejected at one of the stations on the stationfinder map and have had to pay the tax element, can apply for a reimbursement.
Reimbursements will be declined when:
- Monthly ration exceeded.
- Payback card has been used in conjunction with the Aral fuel card.
- When fuel receipts are not separate from other purchases.
Refunds are granted when:
- Unplanned outage (Aral system is not working).
- Aral fuel card is damaged.
- Other error messages.
Reimbursements require all fields on the form must be completed, an image of the receipt and the error slip or written explanation from the Service Station cashier, including a signature and stamp must be uploaded via the form. The image must clearly show all information of the transaction and the reason for the transaction error. Common error readings are "Systemfehler", "Artikel nicht erlaubt", "Vorgang nicht möglich" "Karte Nicht Akzeptiert" or "Karte nicht Lesbar".
This information is required by the German Zollamt, and a refund may not be given by ARAL unless all information is provided.
Non-fuel transactions
The Aral fuel card is an electronic ration card for tax free fuel purchases for VLO registered vehicles and can only be used for transactions that pay for fuel only. Any other items that can be purchased at the Fuel Service Station such as, motor oil, windscreen wash, or consumable items such as chocolate bars and drinks must be paid for separately, not using the Aral fuel card.
If, after having read the above, you believe that you are able to apply for a reimbursement then please complete the Aral fuel card refusal form.