General SLfT Frequently Asked Questions

The basics of Scottish Landfill Tax.

What is Scottish Landfill Tax (SLfT)?

SLfT is the replacement for the current UK Landfill Tax. It is an environmental tax - compensating for the impacts on our environment from unsustainable production and consumption.

SLfT is a cornerstone of Scotland’s Zero Waste Plan, encouraging the prevention, reuse and recycling of waste and helping keep valuable resources circulating in the Scottish economy.

Currently the Scottish proportion of the UK Landfill Tax brings in around £100m per year; this is set to decline, however, with the increasing use of more environmentally friendly ways of managing waste.

What is the Landfill Tax (Scotland) Act 2014 (LT(S)A 2014)?

This Act makes provision for a tax on disposals to landfills in Scotland and applies to taxable disposals in Scotland on or after 1 April 2015.

What changes have been brought in by Scottish Landfill Tax subordinate legislation?

The set of subordinate legislation introduced under LT(S)A 2014 includes:

  • Setting the rates of the tax
  • Introduction of procedures for overpaid tax, administering bad debt including bad debt relief (if a landfill operator’s customer becomes insolvent or bankrupt), writing off bad debts
  • Ability to change the types of materials taxed (setting qualifying material types)
  • Ability to create new material types (due to new technologies or wanting to subdivide existing materials) that will be subject to the tax
  • Ability to add or remove exempted material types
  • Ability to change how the tax due is calculated
  • What information must be on Scottish Landfill Tax invoices
  • Methodologies for determining weight of material at a site
  • Ability to change credit/rebate qualifications (e.g. the removal of material from a site that has already been taxed gets credited to the landfill site operator etc.)
What are the key measures towards improving the environment?

The Scottish Government has taken the opportunity to use SLfT as a deterrent to illegal dumping by bringing such activity under the scope of the tax. This will mean that in addition to any environmental penalties those found making an unauthorised deposit will be subject to Scottish landfill tax.

How do I report environmental offending?

You should inform SEPA through their 24 hour pollution hotline – 0800 80 70 60. You can also use Crimestoppers’ anonymous online report form.

Last updated