Landfill Disposals Tax reliefs and exemptions: technical guidance

The LDT Act clearly distinguishes between exemptions (sections 9 to 12) and reliefs (sections 26 to 33). Broadly, where a disposal is exempt, no tax liability arises in relation to it: it need not be accounted for or claimed on a tax return. Where a disposal of material is eligible for a relief, the landfill site operator needs to account for the disposal and claim the relief on a tax return. Where that is done and any relevant conditions complied with, the tax is not chargeable on the disposal of material that benefits from the relief.

Both exemptions and reliefs relate only to disposals at authorised landfill sites. Unauthorised disposals (disposals of material at a place other than an authorised landfill site) do not benefit from exemptions or reliefs, and can be subject to tax at the unauthorised rate (ref to guidance on unauthorised disposals).

Multiple disposals of material at the same site

A disposal of material is exempt where that material has previously been included in a tax return and tax paid on its disposal at the same site. This ensures that multiple disposals of the same material at the same authorised site will only be chargeable to LDT once.

It is anticipated that this exemption could be applicable in the context of specified landfill site activities (refer to relevant guidance), where material that has been used in one specified landfill site activity (such as creating a temporary road to a landfill disposals area) could be removed and either used in another specified landfill site activity or disposed of in a landfill disposal area on the same site. The exemption ensures that the material is only taxed once.

Pet cemeteries

This exemption applies to pet cemeteries, namely authorised landfill sites that accept only the disposal of dead pet carcasses or ashes (and any box or urn in which they are contained). Disposals at pet cemeteries are exempt from LDT and the operators of such cemeteries are not required to register with the WRA to account for LDT. The exemption does not cover other authorised landfill sites that accept both the remains of pets and other types of waste: such sites must register with the WRA in accordance with the normal rules (refer to relevant rules on registration) and disposal of pet remains at such sites is liable to tax.

Material removed from water by dredging

This relief applies to the disposal of material removed by dredging, for any purpose, from the bed of certain waterways, including rivers, canals, docks and harbours. It also applies to naturally occurring mineral material removed by dredging from the sea bed as part of operations to obtain materials such as sand and gravel.

The relief extends to such qualifying material added to the dredged material as is necessary for the purposes of securing that the dredged material is not in liquid form (and so to allow its disposal to landfill). It is anticipated that the qualifying material which is added would have dehydrating properties or bind the excess moisture content within the waste.

Material resulting from mining and quarrying

This relief applies to disposals of naturally occurring material extracted from the earth as a result of mining or quarrying operations. The disposal of such material is relieved if the material has not been subject to any separate process, or has not been chemically altered, between its extraction and disposal.

Refilling open-cast mines and quarries

This relief covers the disposal of qualifying material at a landfill site (or part of it) that was formerly an open cast mine or quarry.

The relief is available where the following conditions are met:

• The disposal consists entirely of qualifying material or qualifying mixtures of material (but not qualifying mixtures of material consisting entirely of fines)
• it is a requirement of the planning permission relating to the site that the site (or the part in question) must be wholly or partially refilled following the open-cast mining or quarrying operations, and
• no other taxable disposals have been made at the site (or part of it), other than disposals qualifying for this relief or the relief for the disposal of material resulting from mining and quarrying operations (or the equivalent reliefs under landfill tax).