HMRC pulls deft 360 degree turn to leave industry in state of confusion.
Up until 18 May, trommel fines were viewed as an unwelcome but unavoidable bi-product of the waste recycling process; a material utterly devoid of value; the fluff from the navel of the demolition business. As a result, these fines were charged at a rate of just £2.50 per tonne in Landfill Tax on the basis that there was quite simply nothing else that could be done with them.
Then, on 18 May, Her Majesty’s Customs & Revenue – an organisation that demonstrates a degree of lasting commitment previously unseen outside Warren Beatty’s love-life – decreed overnight that these fines should, in fact, be treated the same as other potentially reusable materials and carry the full £64/tonne Landfill Tax charge. The fact that this sudden and unforeseen change coincided with the UK Government’s equally unexpected U-turn on the much-derided pasty tax was lost on no-one. As one meat and potato filled door closes, another fluff-filled door opens is, apparently, the motto these days at HMRC.
Skip company owners – who had seen part of their disposal costs increase by almost 2,500 percent with the sweep of the VAT man’s pen – lobbied, ranted and vented their anger in magazines and newspapers and across a multitude of websites.
Then, it appears, HMRC had yet another change of heart, issuing a statement to say that the earlier brief (issued on 18 May) was now subject to review.
All of which leaves the industry with the worst possible outcome – Legislative limbo; a lawless hinterland in which the letter of the law is replaced by speculation, perception and interpretation. What might be OK today may not be next week…or tomorrow…or this afternoon.
And yet, the central argument at the very core of this multitude of U-turns really could not be more black and white if it were filmed in the 1930s. The Landfill Tax was introduced with just one aim – To make it prohibitively expensive to dump materials that might conceivably be recycled or reused. It was never intended to be a money-making exercise; it was introduced as a planet-saving exercise.
So if, as Dig A Crusher’s Sean Heron believes, trommel fines CAN be further processed to extract more value and minimise waste to landfill, then the £64/tonne must surely apply. If, however, HMRC is now content that trommel fines really are just fluff with no intrinsic value whatsoever, then the £2.50 rate is right and proper.
If your company has been hit with the full £64/tonne rate or if your local HMRC office is advising to carry on as if nothing has happened, we’d love to hear from you using the comments area (below).
