Finance Act 2001

Preparations for evasion

4 (1) Where a person—

(a) becomes a party to any agreement under or by means of which a quantity of taxable aggregate is or is to be subjected to commercial exploitation in the United Kingdom, or

(b) makes arrangements for any other person to become a party to such an agreement,

he is guilty of an offence if he does so in the belief that aggregates levy chargeable on the aggregate in question will be evaded.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, a person guilty of an offence under this paragraph shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a penalty of level 5 on the standard scale.

(3) In the case of any offence under this paragraph, where level 5 on the standard scale is less than three times the sum of the amounts of aggregates levy which are shown to be amounts that were or were intended to be evaded in respect of the aggregate in question, the penalty shall be the amount equal to three times that sum (instead of level 5 on the standard scale).

(4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) above the amounts of levy that were or were intended to be evaded shall be taken to include—

(a) the amount of any tax credit, and

(b) the amount of any repayment of aggregates levy,

which was, or was intended to be, obtained in circumstances where there was no entitlement to it.

(5) In determining for the purposes of sub-paragraph (3) above how much aggregates levy (in addition to any amount falling within sub-paragraph (4) above) was or was intended to be evaded, no account shall be taken of the extent (if any) to which any liability to aggregates levy of any person fell, or would have fallen, to be reduced by the amount of any tax credit or repayments of aggregates levy to which he was, or would have been, entitled.