This guidance takes effect from 5pm on 1 July 2022 reflecting the coming into force of The Scottish Landfill Tax (Prescribed Landfill Site Activities) Amendment Order 2022.
In addition to the taxable disposals covered in SLfT1002, SLfT also applies to certain activities relating to the use of materials on a landfill site. These activities are set out in The Scottish Landfill Tax (Prescribed Landfill Site Activities) Order 2014 (as amended by the Scottish Landfill Tax (Prescribed Landfill Site Activities) (Amendment) Order 2022) and are referred to as ‘prescribed activities’.
Within the landfill cell
A landfill cell is where the disposal activities take place on a landfill site. It is formed of an impermeable layer at its base, sides and, save where the cell only contains inert material, at the top of the cell.
The impermeable layer means the geological barrier at the external facing perimeter of a landfill cell that has the function of preventing the escape of liquids or gases from that landfill cell. This layer can be formed of a single mineral layer or a mineral layer combined with an artificial sealing liner or cap. The impermeable layer itself forms the perimeter of the cell and is therefore is not material used in the cell.
Article 3(1) of the 2014 Order lists the prescribed activities which are to be treated as disposals. Under article 3(1)(h), the use of any material in a landfill cell is to be treated as a disposal (subject to a number of exceptions provided for in the Order and listed below) and therefore liable to SLfT.
Therefore, any material placed in the cell is taxable unless specifically excluded.
Exceptions
Article 3(1)(h) of the 2014 Order also lists the circumstances where material used within a landfill cell is not taxable. These are:
- the use of material to form the drainage layer immediately above the base of the cell
- the pipes, pumps or associated infrastructure used for the extraction or control of surplus liquid or gas from or within that cell
- plant or equipment for waste or environmental management purposes
The use of material that meets all the conditions of one of the SLfT exemptions (see SLfT3005) are also not taxable.
A number of prescribed activities set out in the 2014 Order could take place within the cell. They are therefore taxable either under article 3(1)(h) or under the separate provisions (see the table below for further details on these prescribed activities):
- Daily cover, the use of material to cover the cell during a short-term cessation in landfill disposal activity (article 3(1)(a))
- The use of material to create or maintain a temporary haul road in the cell (article 3(1)(b))
- The use of material to create or maintain temporary hard standing in the cell (article 3(1)(c))
- Cell bunds or cell walls, material used to build structures to separate or contain waste (article 3(1)(d))
- The use of material to create or maintain a temporary screening bund (article 3(1)(e))
- The temporary storage of ashes (including pulverised fuel ash and furnace bottom ash) in the cell (article 3(1)(f))
- Material placed against the drainage layer or liner of the cell to prevent damage to that layer or liner (article 3(1)(g))
Other prescribed activities
When the prescribed activities within the Order take place, whether inside or outside the landfill cell, they are taxable. Descriptions of the other prescribed activities are set out in column 2 of the following table. Column 3 provides further detail about what activities are taxable and column 4 sets out related activities that are not taxable.
While no tax is due on waste which is subject to processing or sorting in the non-disposal area of a landfill site prior to the waste being subject to recovery, tax will be due if the site operator does not supply us with the information described in the guidance on requirements for non-disposals (see SLfT3011).
| Activity Number | Description | What is taxable | What is not taxable |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | The use of material to cover the disposal area during a short-term cessation in landfill disposal activity (article 3(1)(a)) This placing of material may be described as ‘daily cover’. The disposal area, usually the landfill void, is any area where disposals of material as waste and by way of landfill take place (see SLfT1003 and SLfT1004 respectively). |
The placing of any material on the disposal area for mainly health or environmental reasons (such as reducing nuisance and disturbance by vermin, birds or insects). | The use of purely mineral material, including clay, as part of the impermeable layer. The use of material that meets all the conditions of one of the SLfT exemptions – see SLfT3005. |
| B | The use of material to create or maintain a temporary haul road (article 3(1)(b)) | The use of material for the construction or maintenance of roads, either within the disposal area or adjacent to it. Such roads do not have engineered features (which may include kerbs or drains) and may be made from crushed or re-used materials, such as concrete or tarmac and may be eventually subsumed into the landfill site. |
The use of material for construction or maintenance of permanent site roads. These have engineered features (which may include kerbs or drains) and have a surface that is prepared and/or finished. Permanent site roads are likely to have been constructed prior to the start of tipping operations on the site.
|
| C | The use of material to create or maintain temporary hard standing (article 3(1)(c)) | The use of material for the construction or maintenance of a base on which activities such as waste recycling or treatment take place. Such bases do not have engineered features (which may include sealed drainage) and may be made from crushed or re-used materials, such as concrete or tarmac and may be eventually subsumed into the landfill site. | The use of material for construction or maintenance of permanent hard standing. These have engineered features (which may include sealed drainage) and have a surface that is prepared and/or finished. Permanent hard standing is likely to have been constructed prior to the start of tipping operations on the site. The use of material that meets all the conditions of one of the SLfT exemptions – see SLfT3005. |
| D | The use of material to create or maintain a cell bund or cell wall (article 3(1)(d)) |
The use of material to form a structure within the disposal area to separate or contain waste, for example, to identify the operational area. |
The use of purely mineral material, including clay, as part of the engineered containment of the site. The use of material that meets all the conditions of one of the SLfT exemptions – see SLfT3005. |
| E | The use of material to create or maintain a temporary screening bund (article 3(1)(e)) |
The use of any material to create or maintain a structure, either below or above ground, with the purpose of reducing the visual or noise impact of discrete activities on a landfill site, where those activities will cease, while the wider site continues to operate. |
The use of material to create or maintain a structure that performs a function in relation to the landfill site as a whole. It is likely that this will be in place during the entire period of operation of the site as a whole. |
| F | The temporary storage of ashes (including pulverised fuel ash and furnace bottom ash) (article 3(1)(f)) | The storage of ashes from power generation in a facility, such as a lagoon, designed so that the ashes can be retrieved for use or for permanent disposal. |
The use of material that meets all the conditions of one of the SLfT exemptions – see SLfT3005. |
| G | The restoration of a landfill site. | The use of material (including site derived material) for site restoration purposes if you fail to notify us in writing of the intention to commence restoration or if the material is not deposited in the pre-notified restoration area (see SLfT3003). |
The use of material, including site-derived material, for site restoration purposes (and that consists of no more material than is reasonably required to achieve the restoration purposes) but only if you notify us in writing of the intention to commence restoration (see SLfT3004) and the material is deposited in the pre-notified restoration area (see SLfT3003). |
For activities A to E and G, tax is due regardless of whether the material was bought for the purpose or was otherwise obtained.
If material is used for the above activities and has previously been the subject of a taxable disposal, tax is due only on the material that has not been taxed. For example, of material used to cover waste, if 40% of the material has been taxed before and 60% is new material, tax is only due on the 60%.
This is not the case if the tax on a disposal has already been paid by another operator and the disposal was then subsequently moved. In this case, the tax would be payable again.
Where material is taxable because it has been subjected to a landfill site activity which is temporary (activities A, B and D in the table above) and that material is subsequently put to a non-taxable use (but not on a landfill site except when reusing it as restoration material), credit may apply (see SLfT6010).
Ref ID
SLfT3002
Archive Date
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