The Plastic Packaging Tax (General) Regulations 2022

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

The Regulations make provision for plastic packaging tax, introduced by Part 2 of the Finance Act 2021 (c. 26) (“the Act”).

Regulation 1 provides for citation and commencement, regulation 2 gives definitions used in the Regulations and regulation 3 defines the term “prescribed”.

Regulations 4 and 5 set out how to determine whether a packaging component containing plastic is a plastic packaging component, including listing the substances other than plastic that must be measured to determine whether a packaging component that contains plastic is or is not a plastic packaging component.

Regulations 6 and 7 set out the method for calculating the recycled plastic content of a plastic packaging component and require a person to have “sufficient evidence” that plastic is recycled plastic and for the Commissioners to prescribe what sufficient evidence constitutes.

Regulation 8 defines the term “substantial modification” for the purposes of determining when a plastic packaging component is finished (see section 47 of the Act).

Regulations 9 to 11 make provision for when the direct export condition (see section 51 of the Act) ceases to be met, require “sufficient evidence” to be kept if the direct export condition ceases to be met and require the Commissioners to prescribe what “sufficient evidence” means. They also specify the further conditions that apply for the direct export condition to be met.

Regulations 12 to 19 make provision requiring the Commissioners to prescribe what “sufficient evidence” means, setting out the cases in which a liable person is entitled to a tax credit, the procedure for claiming a tax credit and the payment by the Commissioners of tax credits, the repayment of tax credits to the Commissioners, records that must be kept in relation to a tax credit claim, for entitlements to tax credits where a person becomes a member of a group or ceases to carry on a business or is no longer liable to pay the tax.

Regulations 20 to 22 make provision requiring the Commissioners to prescribe the form and manner of a notification of liability to be registered, sets out the information that must be included in such a notification, require a record of evidence to be kept in relation to it and provides the circumstances when a person must notify the Commissioners of any corrections to the register and for the register to be corrected by the Commissioners as they see fit.

Regulations 23 to 26 make provision in relation to the measurement of weight for plastic packaging tax, specifying the time by reference to which weight should be measured, permitting the Commissioners to agree a method for measuring weight and requiring the Commissioners to prescribe specified rules for measuring weight where an agreed method is not used, not complied with, or that method does not apply. Regulation 27 sets out a requirement to re-weigh in certain circumstances. Regulation 28 sets out the records to be kept in relation to weighing.

Regulation 29 allows the Commissioners to determine the weight of any thing to the best of their judgement in certain circumstances and substitute their determination for any measurement or calculation of weight made by any person.

Regulations 30 to 38 make provision applying the regulations on accounting and returns to persons liable to be registered for plastic packaging tax, setting out the accounting periods which apply to the tax, when payment of the tax must be made and for the Commissioners to prescribe the method by which payment must be made. These regulations require persons liable to be registered for the tax to make a return for each accounting period (and set out the timing for doing so), set out the form and manner of the return and what it must include and for errors in a return to be corrected as prescribed by the Commissioners (and the timing for doing so). These provisions also require persons liable to be registered to keep accounts for each accounting period, set out what the accounts must include and the period for preserving those accounts. These regulations also provide for records to be kept as prescribed by the Commissioners, as well as providing for a further record-keeping requirement in relation to waste or surplus material attached to a plastic packaging component at the time of the chargeable event and the period for which records required to be kept by or under the Act must be preserved.

Regulations 39 to 45 provide for the form, manner and content of claims for the repayment of overpaid plastic packaging tax, set out what must be included in reimbursement arrangements made by the claimant of a repayment claim, requiring payments under these reimbursement arrangements to be made within a certain period, setting out records required to be kept and produced in relation to reimbursement arrangements and for the undertakings that must be given to the Commissioners for reimbursement arrangements.

Regulations 46 to 48 set out the factors the Commissioners may take into account in considering whether they may give a secondary liability and assessment notice (under paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 9 to the Act) and more detail about how applications to revoke a secondary liability and assessment notice should be made and what information they should contain.

Regulations 49 to 50 set out the factors the Commissioners may take into account in considering whether they may give a joint and several liability notice (under paragraph 10(1) of Schedule 9 to the Act) and set out more detail about how notifications and applications to revoke a joint and several liability notice should be made and what information they should contain.

Regulations 51 to 54 make provision in respect of how applications for group treatment and other applications and notifications relating to group treatment should be made, what information they should include and also require inaccuracies in an application or notification relating to group treatment to be corrected as prescribed by the Commissioners (and the time limit for doing so)

Regulations 55 to 58 make provision for anything required to be done under the Act by a partnership or unincorporated body to be done in the name of that firm or body, for joint and several responsibility for a partnership or unincorporated body for anything required to be done by or under the Act and sets out the treatment of partners where there is a change in the membership.

Regulation 59 makes provision for the death, incapacity or insolvency of a person registered for the purposes of plastic packaging tax.

A Tax Information and Impact Note covering this instrument was published on 20 July 2021 and is available on the website at  https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-from-april-2022/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-2021.