HMRC clarifies stance on Aggregates Levy
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By Chris Tindall
HMRC has denied claims that it will chase hauliers for 11 years of unpaid money under the Aggregates Levy when exemptions are lifted next April.
The government announced last month (CM 17 October) that it would start taxing all materials exempt from the levy while the European Commission investigated whether it amounted to illegal state aid.
The British Aggregates Association (BAA) said companies should respond to an HMRC consultation into the suspension to explain the difficulties of paying a £2 per tonne levy.
It said HMRC would face "major problems" because it would also need to approach companies to tell them they were liable for unpaid tax since the levy was introduced in 2002. But an HMRC spokesman told
CM this was incorrect. "HMRC will be charging tax on commercial exploited materials that previously had been exempt where the commercial exploitation takes place on or after that date, but has no plans to backdate claims for tax.
"Implementing the suspension will not be easy — and that is why HMRC is consulting on how we operate this suspension with effected businesses," he added.