Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) revealed the postponement of the publication of guidance on the application of the lower rate of landfill tax, due to the amount of response regarding consultation on the issue.
The draft guidance which was meant to be published on November 11 will now be released at a later date which is yet to be confirmed by the HMRC. The HMRC told letsrecycle.com that the date had ‘never been set in stone’.
While the amount of replies to its consultation would not be clarified by the HMRC, it was disclosed that they now need time to address issues raised by the great number of response that consultation on the issue received.
After the end of the consultation on 22 October, an email sent by the HMRC to respondents read:
“Owing to the number and nature of responses received, we now think it is unlikely that we will be in position to publish the draft guidance by that date. We will let you know when we are in a position to confirm the formal publication date.”
Postponement
The delay follows a lengthy debate in recent months regarding which materials can be charged the lower rate of landfill tax at £2.50/tonne, and which should be subject to the standard level of landfill tax-currently £72 per tonne.
The draft guidance was criticised as ‘unworkable’ by the United Resource Operations Consortium (UROC) in a letter to the HMRC last week. The UROC stated that the recommended clarification increased the cost of skip hire and generated even more confusion for business.
On November 5 the trade body is due to discuss the proposal with HMRC and the Environmental Services Association (ESA).
Support for the guidance has been announced by the ESA, asserting that the clarified rules serve as a reminder regarding industry stakeholder’s responsibilities under the legislation.
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