Introduction

This chapter of guidance, mostly reflecting the provisions of Part 2 of The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 and sections 21 to 24 of the LT(S)A 2014, covers the rules regarding registration for SLfT.

Separate guidance is available on How to register for SLfT.

SLfT4002 - Who has to be registered for SLfT

SLfT guidance on the rules regarding who is liable to be registered for SLfT, including the time limits which apply to registration.

If you are a landfill site operator and after 15 February 2015 you are, or have the intention of, carrying out taxable disposals (see SLfT1002) in relation to SLfT then you are liable to be registered with us.

You must notify us of your liability to be registered within 30 days of the earliest date after 15 February 2015 on which you either form (or continue to have) the intention to carry out taxable activities. If you fail to notify us on time you may be liable to a penalty – see RSTP3019.

This requirement applies even if you, as a permit or authorisation holder, allow the site to be operated by someone else. We cannot register a site operator who is not the permit holder. There is no de minimus registration threshold for SLfT.

If you are the permit holder for more than one landfill site you must account for tax under a single registration.

The registered person can be:

a sole proprietor. The sole proprietor is liable for all their obligations and liabilities in relation to SLfT, including telling us about any liability to be registered;
a partnership. Each partner is liable for all the obligations and liabilities of the partnership in relation to SLfT, including telling us about any liability to be registered; and
a group of companies. In certain circumstances:
- associated companies can apply for group treatment - this will enable a group of companies to account for SLfT under a single registration; or
- a company can apply for divisional registration - this will enable its divisions to account for tax under separate registrations.

LT(S)A 2014 section 22

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 3

SLfT4003 - How to register

SLfT guidance on how to register for SLfT.

We have provided separate guidance on How to register for SLfT, which tells you how to notify us of your intentions and your liability to be registered for SLfT.

You can notify us of your liability to be registered either electronically or by post. Once we have processed your application we will send you your unique SLfT registration number and confirm the date from which your registration takes effect.

Please note: This cannot be earlier than 1 April 2015 and will be the first date on or after 1 April 2015 that you intend to make taxable disposals.

We will publish the register of landfill operators on our website and we will maintain and update the published register on a regular basis. You should check the register to ensure that all your registration details are correct. If they are not or they change, you must notify us about any inaccuracies or changes - see SLfT4008.

SLfT4004 - Transfer of a business as a going concern

SLfT guidance on the transfer of a business as a going concern and the effect on the SLfT registration of the business.

If you (the transferee):

acquire a SLfT-registered business as a going concern from another person or entity (the transferor);
we have not already cancelled the registration of the transferor; and
as a result of the transfer of the business, the registration of the transferor is to be cancelled and you have become liable to be registered,

then both you and the transferor can jointly apply to have the transferor’s registration cancelled and for you to be registered with the same registration number previously allocated to the transferor, both from the date of the transfer. It will not be possible to do this if the transferor continues to trade as a SLfT-registered business.

We will notify you if the transfer of the number has been allowed.

If a joint application is made then the transferor does not need to notify us about ceasing to have the intention to carry out taxable activities in order to de-register for tax (see SLfT4008).

If a joint application is not made, then the transferor will need to de-register for tax and you will need to separately notify us in order to register for tax (see SLfT4002).

Liabilities and entitlements if the transferee is allocated the same registration number as the transferor held

If you have been allocated the same registration number as was previously held by the transferor, then you will become:

responsible for all existing liabilities of the transferor to make a SLfT return and pay tax; and
entitled to any credits due to the previous owner.

If you were allocated the same registration number during an accounting period subsequent to that in which the transfer took place, then any:

return that has been made;
tax that has been accounted for; or
entitlement to credit that has been claimed,

by either you or the transferor is treated as having been done by you.

Entitlement to credit for waste later recycled, incinerated, re-used or enforceably removed where transfer of a going concern occurs

Irrespective of whether or not you have been allocated the same registration number as the transferor previously held, where:

a business is transferred as a going concern;
you remove material which was temporarily disposed of as landfill waste but is now being recycled, incinerated, re-used or enforceably removed and is in accordance with regulations 17(2) or 17(4) of The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 (see SLfT6008); and
the transferor has paid tax on the disposal concerned,

then any entitlement to credit arising under Part 5 of The Scottish Landfill Tax Administration Regulations 2015 becomes your entitlement and not that of the transferor.

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 6

SLfT4005 - Applying for group treatment for registration

SLfT guidance on applying to be treated as a group for SLfT registration purposes, and notifying us about changes after registration.

Companies (or bodies corporate) are eligible to be treated as members of a group if:

the prospective representative member has an established place of practice in the UK; and
either:
- one of the companies controls each of the others; or
- an individual, a company or a partnership controls all of them.

One body controls another if it is empowered by statute to control that body's activities, or if it is that body's holding company within the meaning of section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006. An individual may be regarded as a controlling body if the individual holds control over the other bodies in the same way as a holding company.

If you wish to apply for group treatment, you must nominate one of the members of the group to act as the 'representative member'. The application must be made no earlier than 90 days before the date from which it is to take effect, unless we have allowed a different time.

All the companies in the prospective group must be parties to the application but any one of those companies (or the person controlling them) can make the application.

For guidance on how to make the application for group treatment, see the separate guidance covering How to register for SLfT.

If we accept the application, the companies are to be treated as a group from the beginning of an accounting period, and the company named in the application as the representative member will thereafter be treated as the representative member. We can only refuse an application if it appears to us that it is necessary to do for the purposes of protecting the revenue.

Once the application is accepted:

any liability of a member of the group to pay tax is to be taken to be a liability of the representative member;
the representative member is to be taken to carry out any taxable activities which a member of the group would carry out (see SLfT1002) – note that all taxable disposals made between members of the group must be accounted for and any tax paid; and
all members of the group will then be jointly and severally liable for any tax due from the representative member.

Changes to group registration once it is in place

Once the group registration is in place, changes can be made to either group membership (adding or removing a member) or the representative member by one of the members making a further application to us.

In addition, if it appears to us that a company that we have treated as a member of a group because it was controlled by any person has subsequently ceased to be so controlled, then we will notify that person that from a specified date we will no longer treat that company as a member of the group.

LT(S)A 2014 section 38

SLfT4006 - Registering a corporate body in divisions

SLfT guidance on a corporate body registering each division separately for SLfT purposes.

A corporate body, which carries on its business through a number of divisions, may apply for the separate registration of those divisions. Each division is given a separate SLfT registration number and makes its own tax return. The corporate body, however, remains legally responsible for the tax.

For guidance on how to make the application for a divisional registration, see the separate guidance available covering How to register for SLfT.

SLfT4007 - Representation of an unincorporated body

SLfT guidance on the rules regarding unincorporated bodies (those which are a partnership and those which are not) and SLfT.

Rules for unincorporated bodies other than partnerships

If an unincorporated body (other than a partnership) is required to do anything in relation to SLfT, it is the joint and several responsibility of any the following to comply with the requirement:

every member holding office as president, chairman, treasurer, secretary or any similar office;
if there is no such office, every member holding office as a member of a committee by which the affairs of the body are managed; or
if there is no such office or committee, every member.

If the requirement is carried out by any of the persons above, we will consider that requirement as having been complied with, unless the requirement is one in relation to any of regulations 3 to 5 of The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 (notifications about registration – see SLfT4002 and SLfT4008).

Where that is the case, we will not consider that requirement as having been complied with unless the notification is made by a person upon whom a responsibility for making it is imposed by any of the individuals or members mentioned in the above bullet points.

Rules for unincorporated bodies which are partnerships

If a partnership is required to do anything in relation to SLfT, it is the joint and several responsibility of every partner to comply with the requirement.

If the requirement is carried out by any of the partners or, in the case of a partnership whose principal place of business is in Scotland, by any other person authorised by the partnership, we will consider that requirement as having been complied with.

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 7

SLfT4008 - Inaccuracies and changes to SLfT registration

SLfT guidance on notifying us about inaccuracies and changes to your SLfT registration, including notifying us about your liability to be de-registered or where the registered person has been made bankrupt or is incapacitated.

Once you have notified us about your intention to carry out taxable activities there are certain circumstances where you are required to notify us about any changes to your registration, including:

inaccuracies in your original notification;
changes in certain details such as business status;
inaccuracies in either of the above notifications (that is, a notification about inaccuracies in the original notification or a notification about changes in certain details);
ceasing to have the intention to carry out taxable activities (de-registering for tax); and
bankruptcy or incapacity.

We will use this information to maintain and update the register which we will publish on our website.

If you fail to comply with any of the below rules you may be liable to a penalty – see RSTP3019.

Inaccuracies in your original notification

You must notify us (by writing to us at the contact email address provided on our website) within 30 days of:

you discovering an inaccuracy (of any type and nature); or
a change occurring which causes an inaccuracy,

in any of the information you provided in (or with) your original notification of registration to us. You must provide full particulars of the inaccuracy.

We will correct the register accordingly if we are satisfied that any of the information recorded in the register is or has become inaccurate (and can do so irrespective of whether or not you have notified us about the inaccuracy).

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 4(1)

Changes in certain details

Notwithstanding the above requirement in relation to inaccuracies in your original notification, you must also notify us (by writing to us at the contact email address provided on our website) within 30 days of the date of any of the following changing:

your name or trading name (if different) or the address or name of the landfill sites which you operate;
your status – that is, whether you are carrying on your business as a sole proprietor, a body corporate, partnership or other unincorporated body; or
in the case of a partnership, the name and address of any partner.

You must provide us with the full particulars of the change, including the date on which the change occurred.

We will correct the register accordingly if we are satisfied that any of the relevant information recorded in the register has changed (and can do so irrespective of whether or not you have notified us about the change).

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 4(2) and 4(4)

Inaccuracies in notifications about a) inaccuracies in the original notification; b) changes in certain details

You must notify us (by writing to us at the contact email address provided on our website) within 30 days of you discovering an inaccuracy in any information contained in (or provided with) a notification about:

an inaccuracy in your original notification of registration; or
changes in certain details such as your business status.

You must provide us with full particulars of:

the inaccuracy;
the date on which the inaccuracy was discovered;
how the information was inaccurate; and
the correct information.

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 4(3)

Ceasing to have the intention to carry out taxable activities (de-registering for tax)

Once you are registered for SLfT, you must notify us (by writing to us at the contact email address provided on our website) within 30 days of you ceasing to have the intention to make taxable disposals, in order that we can de-register you for SLfT.

You must tell us the date on which you ceased to have the intention of carrying out taxable activities and, if different, the date on which you ceased (or will cease) to carry out taxable activities.

Once we are satisfied that you have ceased all taxable activity we will cancel your registration from the earliest practical time after you ceased all taxable activities.

We do not have to cancel your registration, if we are not satisfied about any of the following:

you will not carry out (resumption of) taxable activities;
all tax you are due to pay has been paid; or
there is no outstanding credit you may be entitled to.

If you have been de-registered by us, and subsequently discover you are entitled to a repayment in relation to credit, see the following guidance for further information:

LT(S)A 2014 section 22

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 5

Bankruptcy or incapacity of registrable persons

If you are registered and become bankrupt or are incapacitated we may, from the date of bankruptcy or incapacitation, treat any person carrying on the taxable business as though that person were you.

The person carrying on the business must inform us by writing to us at the contact email address provided on our website within 30 days of commencing that responsibility, providing either the date of the bankruptcy order or the nature of the incapacity (whichever applies) and the date on which it began.

We will cease to treat that person as a registrable person if:

your registration is cancelled, whether or not any other person is registered with the registration number previously allocated to you;
the bankruptcy is discharged or the incapacity ceases; or
the person ceases carrying on your business.

If the registrable person is a company, the references above to being incapacitated are to be construed as references to the company going into liquidation or receivership or entering administration (and references to the incapacity ceasing are to also be construed accordingly).

The Scottish Landfill Tax (Administration) Regulations 2015 regulation 8

SLfT4009 - Publication of the SLfT register

We maintain an SLfT register containing the information required to help us manage the tax.

We will publish the names, business addresses and SLfT registration numbers of those registered for SLfT. Apart from the registration numbers, such details are already in the public domain as a result of environmental law. We will not publish any financial or confidential information you supply to us.

We will publish the names, business addresses and SLfT registration numbers of those registered for SLfT, apart from the registration numbers, such details are already in the public domain as a result of environmental law. We will not publish any financial or confidential information you supply to us. The SLfT register is available from our website.

LT(S)A 2014 section 24.

Last updated

6 June 2024

SLfT4001 - Registering for SLfT