The measures aim to provide scientific data on whether waste fines qualify for the lower rate of landfill tax, which currently stands at £2.60 per tonne on both sides of the border.
The England and Wales regime sees landfill operators submit a sample of waste taken from customers, which is then heated to determine how much material is lost. The deliveries must meet an LOI of 15% or less in order to meet the lower tax rate – falling to 10% from April 2016.
On Friday, the Scottish Government launched a consultation seeking views from landfill operators, waste companies and local authorities on how a similar regime could be implemented north of the border.
The testing regime was not transferred when landfill tax powers were devolved to Scotland in April this year, following a series of U-turns on whether it should be implemented from the outset.
At the last minute the Scottish Government suggested landfill operators should conduct LOI tests on material, however there remains no legal obligation for them to do so (see letsrecycle.com story).
Under proposals outlined in the consultation, it looks likely that Scotland will implement a similar mandatory LOI testing regime to the rest of the UK.
Threshold
But the specifics of the tests, such as the threshold for LOI and the best method for creating a representative sample, have yet to be fleshed out.
The consultation states: “Scottish Ministers are committed to the introduction of a statutory LOI testing regime to provide certainty and encourage a consistent approach to the taxation of residual waste fines. A decision was taken not to legislate in the first year of operation of SLfT to allow industry time to prepare, including the set-up of contractual arrangements for testing and for the procurement of testing equipment.
“Ministers have previously stated that any changes to the tax will be preceded, where possible, with appropriate lead in times to allow industry to adapt. We are keen to hear how experience from both the UK and Scottish testing regimes can help inform the development of a statutory testing regime for Scottish Landfill Tax.”
Issues
The consultation, which runs until December 29 2015, is likely to attract views from some operators elsewhere in the UK that have experienced issues adapting to the LOI regime.
It comes after skip hire trade body Uroc – which played a central role in establishing the regime – claimed it had not had the “desired effect” following consultation with its members in August this year.
Issues cited have been the turnaround time on laboratory testing, inconsistency in LOI results, landfill operators limiting the amount of waste fines they will accept at any one time, and the threat of a load being retrospectively charged at an £82.60 standard rate of tax.
In May, ESG – a company which conducts LOI tests – also called for a quality standard to be set up which would help prove that all laboratories are providing reliable results (see letsrecycle.com story).
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