The Scottish Landfill Tax (Standard Rate and Lower Rate) Order 2024 has now been approved by the Scottish Parliament and came into effect on 1 April 2024. As a result, taxable disposals made or treated as made on or after 1 April 2024 will be subject to the following rates of SLfT:
We are delighted to present our Corporate Plan for 2024-27.
This Corporate Plan sets out our aspirations for the future, with a focus on four strategic outcomes which underpin our priorities for the next three years: Operational Excellence, Investing in our People, Working with Others and Expanding Horizons.
Since 2015, Revenue Scotland has been responsible for collecting over £6 billion from devolved taxes which have been used to help fund vital public services in Scotland. We have managed the devolved tax system in a highly efficient and effective way, with a digital-first mindset and a group of professionals who operate to the highest standards.
Despite the many challenges faced in Scotland in recent years, we have designed and delivered a service that costs under one penny for every pound of tax we collect. This is a great testament to the dedication of our team. Over the next three years, we want to ensure that operational efficiency, delivered by our committed staff, remains at the core of what we do.
We will continue to play our part in supporting the Scottish Government on tax policy and legislation matters. With the introduction of Scottish Aggregates Tax in 2026 and the potential of a Scottish Building Safety Levy, we will ensure we have the systems in place that will allow effective implementation within agreed timelines. Both taxes will allow further collaboration with local authorities and other stakeholders across Scotland, and this is likely to offer more opportunities to enhance services
for the benefit of the public.
We want to ensure Revenue Scotland is a transparent and accessible organisation and we are committed to providing clear guidance, offering enhanced support for those who require additional help as they interact with us. We will involve taxpayers in the design and testing of our approach, systems and website.
As we enhance our digital systems, we will embrace the opportunities that technology can deliver, ensuring robust security and data confidentiality, while delivering the efficiencies that will improve our services.
By investing in our culture and professional development, we have secured high satisfaction scores in our annual people survey. As an inclusive employer, we will continue to invest in our staff, offering rewarding careers for all and embracing diversity, where everyone can bring their best self to work.
We want to continue to build on this success and will enhance our digital and data capabilities alongside our tax expertise so that everyone at Revenue Scotland has the chance to enhance their skillsets for the future.
We will continue to deepen our relationships and learning from all our stakeholders and actively engage in Public Service Reform as a ‘sector connector’ across the Scottish Administration.
We move forward from a strong base where we have demonstrated resilience, innovation and consistency in the way we operate and as we reach out to help deliver high quality public services, we do so with confidence and a determination to be an exemplar public body.
Launch: Revenue Scotland established; first devolved tax returns received
Awards: Our Tax Administration Programme wins 3 awards for its success
Programme delivery: Additional Dwelling Supplement is successfully delivered
Devolved taxation: Scotland Act 2016 devolves competence for Scottish Aggregates Tax
Networking: Revenue Scotland establishes the British Isles Tax Authority Forum, bringing tax authorities together
Award: Revenue Scotland achieves Official Statistics status
Legislative change: Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, First-time Buyer Relief introduced
Transparency: Revenue Scotland publishes its Tax Compliance Strategy
Digital: Cyber Security Accreditation achieved
Digital: The Scottish Electronic Tax System 2 (SETS 2) for devolved taxes goes live
People: People Strategy launched, transforming our approach to organisational development
Legislative change: Temporary measures delivered to support taxpayers during the pandemic
Building capability: Launched Modular Scottish Tax Education Programme for staff, with innovative ways of learning
Operating model: Hybrid working pilot commences
Digital and equalities: Redesigned website achieves Digital First standards for accessibility
Tax milestone: £6 billion devolved taxes revenues collected since 2015
Operating model: Tailored hybrid working approach adopted as the Revenue Scotland operating model
Equalities and inclusion: Enhanced Support Policy launched for people who need support as they engage with us
Audit: Revenue Scotland receives ‘substantial assurance’ for a further year from Audit Scotland; all KPIs met
People: Revenue Scotland achieves outstanding People Survey results
Policy: Supporting Scottish Government with the introduction of a Scottish Aggregates Tax Bill
Legislative change: Delivered new measures for the Additional Dwelling Supplement
To efficiently and effectively collect and manage the devolved taxes which fund public services for the benefit of the people of Scotland.
To be:
• an exemplar in providing an excellent service to our taxpayers
• trusted by our partners to deliver innovative digital revenue services and support the development of policy
• a progressive public body, and
• an employer of choice.
Revenue Scotland staff were asked to think about words that resonated with them for their vision forthe future.
This is the collection of the words they shared, weighted by size according to the frequency of response, demonstrating their ambition for, and commitment to, the organisation.
Revenue Scotland has made great strides since it was established in 2015. We are a dynamic organisation, capable of being agile and flexible, willing to try new ideas and approaches.
We have assessed our strengths and areas where we need to develop, upcoming priorities in tax and new ways of working. This analysis has enabled us to set out in this Corporate Plan the priorities for improvement and change beyond what we already do which will make the most impact upon our organisation and the tax environment in Scotland.
To continue to build on our foundation of achievement, we will focus on four strategic outcomes as developmental areas, shaped from our past experiences, successes and aspirations for the future.
Our ambition is to be a digital and data driven organisation, with robust systems for both taxpayers and staff, to enable accurate and efficient collection of tax.
We aim to have an informed, highly skilled, and diverse staff and Board, able to perform to the best of their ability, delivering success for the organisation.
As Scotland’s Tax Authority, we aim to establish new connections with others working in new and existing national and local taxes in Scotland and beyond. As a public body, committed to transparency, we will support the Public Service Reform agenda and share our experience of efficiently and effectively delivering public services.
Collaborating with our partners and stakeholders, we aim to actively support the development of policy and legislation for new and existing national and local taxes.
We have a level of agility to make ongoing improvements at a fast pace, and with creativity. Over the next three years we will continue our work to become exemplary by improving our digital systems and support to taxpayers, better utilising the data we collect, and streamlining our processes.
Our ambition is to be a digital and data driven organisation, with robust systems for both taxpayers and staff, to enable accurate and efficient collection of tax.
We will achieve this outcome by:
Our staff are at the heart of our ambitions to be an exemplar organisation. We have worked hard to ensure that we are a welcoming, inclusive employer of choice, with a culture of openness, collaboration, integrity, and learning. Our ambitions do not stop there; we intend to be known for being an excellent organisation to work in, attracting and retaining talented employees.
We aim to have an informed, highly skilled, and diverse staff and Board, able to perform to the best of their ability, delivering success for the organisation.
We will achieve this outcome by:
We already work closely with our stakeholders and partners on policy and legislation for devolved taxes and participate in shared
learning. Building on our experience, we will work across other areas of taxation in Scotland and beyond, to share learning and
develop new ideas. We will actively engage in Public Service Reform work to learn from others and share learning by providing case studies of our activities.
As Scotland’s tax authority, we aim to establish new connections with others working in new and existing national and local taxes in Scotland and beyond.
As a public body, committed to transparency, we will support the Public Service Reform agenda and share our experience of efficiently and effectively delivering public services.
We will achieve this outcome by:
We will work in partnership with the Scottish Government to develop new devolved taxes - Scottish Aggregates Tax (SAT) and the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy (SBSL) - and on proposals to review and amend the legislation for the existing devolved taxes in the light of operational experience. Aligning with existing partnership principles, we will bring people together and offer support on policy and legislation in other areas of taxation in Scotland, including local taxes.
Collaborating with our partners and stakeholders, we aim to actively support the development of policy and legislation for new and existing national and local taxes.
We will achieve this outcome by:
Working in Partnership with Scottish Government
Developing and delivering new devolved taxes - We will support the development of SAT and the proposed SBSL. Our delivery programmes will ensure readiness for their introduction.
Reviewing devolved taxes legislation - We will work with Scottish Government to review legislation for existing taxes in light of operational experience.
| Strategic Outcomes | Success measures |
|---|---|
| Operational Excellence |
|
| Investing in our People |
|
| Working with Others |
|
| Expanding Horizons |
|
The Scottish Government’s National Performance Framework is for all of Scotland. It supports a shared way of working and asks everyone to work together to help to improve the lives of the people of Scotland.
The revenues we collect are used to fund public services in Scotland and support the delivery of the National Outcomes.
Our key purpose is to collect and manage devolved taxes in support of a fiscally sustainable Scotland.
Our collection and management of Scottish Landfill Tax supports environmental objectives in relation to waste disposal.
Revenue Scotland also recognises the National Outcomes as a public body and as an employer.
The National Performance Framework is currently under review, after which Revenue Scotland will look to adapt to any relevant changes.
The financial plan sets out estimates of the costs to meet the aspirations set out in this Corporate Plan.
The Revenue Scotland budget is set annually. The financial projections associated with this Corporate Plan therefore, are estimates which are subject to change.
The budget estimates include programme and capital costs associated with the introduction of Scottish Aggregates Tax and indicative costs for the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy.
| Revenue Expenditure | Costs (£000 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 Budget | 2025-26 Estimate | 2026-27 Estimate | |
| Staff costs | 7,193 | 7,699 | 8,135 |
| Non Staff costs | 1,667 | 1,755 | 1,821 |
| Total | 8,860 | 9,454 | 9,956 |
| Amortisation/Depreciation (Non Cash) | 640 | 760 | 1,018 |
| Total | 9,500 | 10,214 | 10,974 |
| Capital Expenditure | 1,500 | 2,200 | 600 |
|---|
In Revenue Scotland, we strive for equality, diversity, and inclusion to be part of our DNA. We want to create a culture where we truly celebrate our diversity, embrace our inclusivity, and achieve better equality for everyone.
That is why we set ourselves targeted equality outcomes to guide our efforts from 2020-2024 to continue to embed equality across all of Revenue Scotland’s activities as both a service provider and employer.
This report shows the journey that we have been on over that period. It is interspersed with many and varied stories from our staff showing our continued commitment to developing and integrating equality, diversity and inclusion in our culture and behaviours, so that it is integral to our day-to-day work and decision making. The stories demonstrate how much these efforts
mean to our staff, and how much value there is in striving to make our organisation as diverse and inclusive a place as it can be.
Of course, we know that our endeavours must continue. There are areas we need to work on further so that the organisation can become truly representative of the people we serve. We are committed to making ongoing improvements in those areas
We all have work to do to achieve and maintain this standard. Mainstreaming outcomes, and the legal duties that underpin them, are an important part of that. Our mainstreaming outcomes for 2024-2028, aligned with our Corporate Plan for 2024-2027, will serve as a guide and goal for us over the next four years and will ensure that Revenue Scotland continues to work hard to ensure that we meet the needs of all the people we serve.
Elaine Lorimer, Chief Executive
28 March 2024
On 18 March 2024, a Statutory Instrument was laid to designate tax sites for the Green Freeport Relief in relation to the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.
These regulations will come into effect on 8 April 2024.
The Designation of Special Tax Sites (Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport) Regulations 2024 (legislation.gov.uk) can be viewed on legislation.gov.uk.
The designated tax sites for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport are:
From 1 April 2024, a new LBTT relief for local authority purchases will be introduced. Changes will also be made to the way in which the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) is applied, for transactions with an effective date on or after 1 April 2024.
The effective date in the majority of cases will be the date the transaction is completed.
Please note: changes are not retrospective.
Revenue Scotland is proud to introduce Recite Me accessibility and language tools on our website. We believe that everyone deserves a barrier-free online experience.
Our diversity and inclusion strategy aims to provide a seamless experience for people with disabilities, learning difficulties, visual impairments, and non-native English speakers. With the Recite Me assistive toolbar, we can help over 20% of the population who might otherwise face barriers on our website.
Simon Cunningham has been a member of the Board of Revenue Scotland since January 2021, having previously served as a member of Revenue Scotland’s Audit & Risk Committee from 2019. He is a Chartered Accountant and was for a partner with Scott-Moncrieff, Chartered Accountants, leading their outsourced internal audit and risk consulting services for many years working with Boards and Audit Committees for a wide range of organisations across the Scottish public sector, and several of Scotland leading listed companies and charities. He was Chief Internal Auditor at AEGON UK and
All data were extracted as at 31 May 2023 but, in keeping with Revenue Scotland’s revisions policy, some of the data relating to earlier years has not been updated. For LBTT and SLfT, only data for 2021/22 onwards has been updated (and for sub-Scotland geographies, only the most recent year was updated).
There are various data quality issues with reliefs information collected from LBTT returns in previous years, although these issues do not affect the total LBTT declared due.
The most common data quality issue affecting total revenue foregone to reliefs is that, prior to the introduction of a new electronic tax system in July 2019, 4% of taxpayers claiming reliefs incorrectly entered the value of the relief claimed as the full consideration - e.g. the total price of the property – rather than the LBTT amount that would be due without reliefs. This means that simply summing the value of reliefs claimed on tax returns would overstate the value of LBTT revenue forgone to reliefs. The LBTT revenue forgone to reliefs needs to be estimated from other information provided by the taxpayer, and hence the results presented are referred to as estimates. Full details of the methods used to produce the estimates can be found on the LBTT data requests section5 of the Revenue Scotland website.
From 2015/16 to 2018/19, the relief amount was estimated in this way for 10% of returns claiming a relief. Recent improvements to the tax system have reduced the need to estimate the relief amount, and in 2020/21, the relief amount was estimated for 1% of returns.
It is also worth noting that the estimates are likely to underestimate ADS (and consequently LBTT) revenue forgone to reliefs to some extent. ADS is due on most purchases of a residential property by a non-natural person, such as a company. When a full relief is claimed reducing the LBTT liability to nil, in some cases the ADS has not been declared (rather than declared and reduced to nil by relief). Therefore, although the tax position is correct, it is likely that data on reliefs for residential transactions will underestimate ADS revenues forgone. There is a similar issue where a non-residential transaction contains a mixture of residential and commercial elements (‘mixed’ property transactions are treated as non-residential transactions for LBTT). Again, the overall tax position for the relevant transactions remains correct.
The LBTT legislation prescribes that an LBTT return must be submitted and arrangements made for payment of the LBTT due to Revenue Scotland before the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland can proceed with registration of title. The LBTT return includes a range of information about the transaction, tax liabilities and reliefs claimed. Amendments and corrections can be made to LBTT returns up to one year following the filing date. This may lead to revisions to the LBTT data in this publication. The vast majority of LBTT returns are submitted online via the Revenue Scotland website by agents acting on behalf of taxpayers.
[5] The relevant file is dated 11 October 2018 and named ‘LBTT – reliefs.xlsx’.
The SLfT data presented in this publication comes from SLfT returns and is based on the period the return relates to. A SLfT return must be submitted and arrangements made for payment of the SLfT due to Revenue Scotland by 44 days after the end of the quarter. The SLfT return includes a range of information about the tax liabilities and credits claimed, along with supplementary information on the type and amount of waste disposed of in the quarter. Amendments and corrections can be made to SLfT returns up to one year following the filing date. This may lead to revisions to the SLfT data in this publication. The vast majority of SLfT returns are submitted online via the Revenue Scotland portal.
Users should note that this publication is not a commentary on the volume of waste from all
sources or volume of waste landfilled in Scotland. Nor is it a commentary on the volume or value of land and property transactions in Scotland.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency publishes comprehensive waste data for Scotland on its website.
Registers of Scotland publishes comprehensive property data for Scotland on its website.
Statistics for other countries of the UK are produced by different organisations. These are listed below. Note that different countries may have different tax rates which should be considered when comparing the statistics.
For Wales, The Welsh Revenue Authority produce statistics on the Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposal Tax in Wales, which are found on their website.
For England and Northern Ireland, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) produce the Stamp Duty Land Tax statistics and the Landfill Tax is found in their Environmental Taxes Bulletin.
The purpose of this appendix is to explain how Revenue Scotland’s monthly LBTT statistics, quarterly SLfT statistics, and annual statistics (this publication) relate to the revenue figures that appear in the Devolved Taxes Account in Revenue Scotland’s Annual Report and Financial Statements (referred to in this annex as the Annual Report). The figures in the statistics and Annual Report are produced on a different basis.
Whereas the figures in the Annual Report are, by their nature, fixed for a given year (at the point at which the accounts are closed), the published statistics are updated on a monthly basis with changes largely reflecting ADS reclaims (and some other amendments) which have been received after the original LBTT tax returns were submitted.
The Annual Report and published statistics are both based on the date the LBTT return is submitted but with some adjustments made to the Annual Report3 to accrue revenue for LBTT returns (and claims for repayment of ADS) received in April and May (after the end of the financial year) with an effective date (or sale date for the previous main residence) relating to the previous financial year or earlier. These April/May adjustments typically result in relatively small differences between the Annual Report and published statistics, although the difference was more pronounced in the first year of LBTT (2015/16) because there were no reverse accruals relating to the previous year.
Differences in reported figures are mainly due to the different treatments of claims for repayment of ADS in the Annual Report and published statistics. This annex focuses on differences arising due to the different treatments of claims for repayment of ADS and is intended to help the reader make meaningful comparisons between the two sources of financial information.
The published statistics allocate claims for repayment of ADS to the period in which the LBTT return (with ADS declared due) was originally submitted. The accounts published in the Annual Report typically allocate claims for repayment of ADS to the accounting year in which the claim for repayment was received. For example, a claim for repayment of ADS received in June 2019 relating to an LBTT return originally received in March 2019 would be allocated to March 2019 (2018/19) in the published statistics and to 2019/20 in the Annual Report. This repayment could not be allocated to 2018/19 in the accounts because the 2018/19 accounts were closed as at 31 May 2019.
Table 15: LBTT excluding ADS and gross ADS declared due and the value of ADS repayments claimed by year the LBTT return/claim for repayment was received and the year the claim relates to
| Year | £ millions3 | Devolved Taxes figure for LBTT2 | ||||||||||||||
|
a) LBTT ADS |
b) Gross ADS | Value of ADS repayments claimed | Net LBTT (a + b - c) |
|||||||||||||
| Year claim relates to1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016/17 | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | c) All | |||||||||
| 2015/16 | 415.8 | 415.8 | 424.9 | |||||||||||||
| 2016/17 | 389.7 | 104.5 | 13.3 | 13.3 | 480.9 | 483.6 | ||||||||||
| 2017/18 | 461.5 | 124.3 | 12.3 | 17.1 | 29.4 | 556.4 | 557.3 | |||||||||
| 2018/19 | 457.1 | 130.4 | 1.6 | 13.0 | 18.6 | 33.1 | 554.4 | 554.2 | ||||||||
| 2019/20 | 478.5 | 166.4 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 15.2 | 23.9 | 40.7 | 604.2 | 597.4 | |||||||
| 2020/21 | 398.8 | 156.6 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 19.3 | 23.1 | 44.5 | 510.9 | 517.4 | ||||||
| 2021/22 | 666.5 | 192.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 4.5 | 20.1 | 26.9 | 52.2 | 806.9 | 807.2 | |||||
| 2022/23 | 679.9 | 210.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 17.2 | 27.9 | 48.4 | 842.1 | 847.8 | ||||
| Notes: | ||||||||||||||||
| 1. For example, a claim for repayment of ADS received in 2017/18 relating to an LBTT return (with ADS declared due) originally received in 2016/17 would relate to 2016/17 (i.e. the year the LBTT return was received) | ||||||||||||||||
|
2. Revenue Scotland Annual Report and Financial Statements. See: https://www.revenue.scot/about-us/publications/corporate-documents 3. All figures are as at the end of the relevant financial year and have not been revised |
||||||||||||||||
Key figures in Table 15 that help illustrate the different treatment of claims for repayment of ADS are the £2.2 million and £17.2 million of claims for repayment of ADS received in 2022/23 relating to LBTT returns initially received in 2020/21 and 2021/22, respectively (and to a lesser extent, the £1.1 million relating to 2019/20). In the published statistics these claims do not result in any adjustment to the net ADS declared due in 2022/23. However, the net ADS reported in the statistics against 2020/21 and 2021/22 is revised (reduced) to reflect these claims as they relate to ADS originally declared on LBTT returns received in those financial years.
In the Annual Report, these repayments are reported as reductions in revenue in 2022/23 as they were received after the accounting periods for 2020/21 and 2021/22 were closed, and hence the accounts for 2020/21 and 2021/22 are not revised. Therefore, to compare the published statistics for LBTT relating to 2022/23 (as at the 31st March 2023) with the LBTT revenue reported in Revenue Scotland’s 2022/23 Annual Report (accounts), the ADS repayment claims received during 2022/23 relating to earlier years (£1.1 million for 2019/20, £2.2 million for 2020/21 and £17.2 million for 2021/22) should be deducted from the statistics4.
[3] The Annual Report and Financial Statements are produced to comply with the accounting principles and disclosure requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual.
[4] Note – the figures of £1.1 million, £2.2 million and £17.2 million for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 can be estimated from the statistics by differencing the net ADS statistics published for March 2023 with the net ADS statistics published for March 2022.
Table 15 shows that the Devolved Taxes figure for LBTT in Revenue Scotland’s accounts and the Net LBTT figure taken from the published statistics (adjusted for ADS reclaims in previous years, as discussed above) can broadly be reconciled. There are some other reasons for differences, but these are generally more minor and it is not practical to adjust the statistics for all possible differences.
The most significant of these is the impact of the accounting accruals process which attributes revenue in the first two months of the accounting year (April and May) to the previous financial year if the effective date of the relevant transaction was before 1 April. For every financial year there is revenue coming in from April and May of the following year (accruals) and revenue subtracted (reverse accruals) from April and May of the year in question which was included in the accounts of the previous year.
The accruals and reverse accruals often roughly cancel out, but for 2015/16, 2019/20 and 2020/21 there were more noticeable difference which in turn resulted in more significant differences between Net LBTT and Devolved Taxes figure for LBTT in Table 15.
For 2015/16, no LBTT revenue where the tax returns were received in April or May 2015 were accrued into 2014/15 in the annual accounts (as LBTT was only introduced in April 2015), but 2015/16 included some revenue for returns received in April and May 2016 with effective dates before 1 April 2016.
For 2019-20, accruals from April and May 2020 (into 2019/20) were reduced as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which significantly impacted LBTT revenue in late March and April/May 2020. This resulted in a lower figure in the accounts (£597.4 million) than in the net figure shown in Table 15 (£604.2 million), a difference of nearly £7 million.
The opposite effect is seen for 2020/21 where the accrual into the accounts (from April/May 2021 into 2020/21) outweighs the accrual from April/May 2020 into 2019/20. In this case the figure in the accounts for 2020/21 (£517.4 million) is around £7 million more than the net figure in Table 15 (£510.9 million).
Appendix B (ii) – comparison of SLfT statistics with published accounts
Table 16: Comparison of SLfT declared due reported in Revenue Scotland statistics with SLfT revenue reported in the Revenue Scotland Annual Report and Financial Statements
| Year | £ millions | |
| SLfT declared due (in statistics1) |
SLfT revenue net of repayments, excluding penalties & interest and revenue losses (in accounts2) |
|
| 2015/16 | 149.3 | 147.0 |
| 2016/17 | 148.0 | 149.1 |
| 2017/18 | 146.6 | 148.0 |
| 2018/19 | 141.3 | 148.5 |
| 2019/20 | 118.6 | 119.0 |
| 2020/21 | 106.3 | 106.5 |
| 2021/22 | 121.7 | 125.2 |
| 2022/23 | 110.1 | 109.7 |
| Notes: | ||
| 1. Revenue Scotland SLfT Official Statistics. See https://www.revenue.scot/about-us/publications/statistics/scottish-landfill-tax-statistics |
||
| 2. Revenue Scotland Annual Report and Financial Statements. See https://www.revenue.scot/about-us/publications/corporate-documents |
||
Table 16 compares the SLfT declared due reported in Revenue Scotland Official Statistics with the SLfT revenue figures reported in Revenue Scotland’s Annual Report.
These statistics are reported in relation to the quarter in which the landfill disposal took place. For example, if a landfill operator submits an SLfT tax return in August 2018 relating to the quarter April - June 2018, the tax declared due is reported against that quarter (i.e. April - June 2018). Landfill operators have 12 months from the relevant date to amend their tax return and Revenue Scotland SLfT Statistics are revised up to 12 months after the quarter in question. If additional tax is declared, or identified through Revenue Scotland compliance activities, after this 12 month period, the statistics are not revised. This is to minimise the risk of disclosing Protected Taxpayer Information by updating tonnages and revenues by quarter, potentially showing changes relating only to single operators, or very small numbers of operators.
The Annual Report (accounts) reports revenue against the year in which the revenue was realised, with accrual adjustments in April and May. Unlike the statistics, any additional revenue (or reductions in revenue) realised during a financial year (but potentially relating to earlier years) will be reported as revenue in the accounts during that year and may lead to a difference between SLfT reported in the statistics and the accounts.