The Landfill Tax (Contaminated Land) Order 1996

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order comes into force on 1 August 1996, except for article 4, which comes into force on the same day as section 54 of the Finance Act 1996 (review of Commissioners' decisions). The Order amends that Act in order to provide for an additional exemption from the new landfill tax, which Part III of that Act introduces. The exemption is in respect of disposals of waste material that has resulted from certain land reclamations.

Article 2 provides for the Finance Act 1996 (“the Act”) to be amended in accordance with the later articles of the Order.

Article 3 provides for the insertion in the Act of new sections 43A and 43B. The first of these provides an exemption from landfill tax for disposals of waste arising from land for which a certificate, issued by the Commissioners of Customs and Excise under section 43B, is in force. Certain other conditions must be fulfilled. Subsection (3) defines when the qualifying period expires, and this prevents the exemption from applying after, for example, the intended construction of a building has commenced. Subsection (4) prevents the exemption applying if the removal of the waste material is required by certain remediation notices, except where it is undertaken by the public bodies named in subsection (5).

Section 43B details the circumstances in which the Commissioners will issue, amend, withdraw or refuse to issue a certificate and lists examples of the conditions which may be attached to the issue of a certificate. Subsection (7) lists the reclamation processes that, subject to conditions listed in subsection (8), qualify for the issue of a certificate.

Article 4 adds to section 54(1) of the Act by making the refusal of an application for a certificate and the withdrawal of a certificate decisions which may be reviewed and, by virtue of section 55, appealed to the VAT and duties tribunal thereafter. The review procedure and tribunal jurisdiction are also extended to include decisions to limit certificates to only part of the land to which the application relates.

Article 5 adds two new definitions to section 70(1) of the Act and article 6 also inserts a new definition as section 70(2A).