Get ready for Plastic Packaging Tax: guidance and webinars update

11 Feb Get ready for Plastic Packaging Tax: guidance and webinars update

Are you a business that manufactures or imports plastic packaging? If so, please sign-up for HMRC’s further Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) webinars to learn more about what you need to do before the tax comes into force on 1‌‌‌ ‌April‌‌‌ ‌2022. This is a good opportunity for anyone who missed joining the live webinars that ran last year.

The following sessions also incorporate information on weighing methods that has since been published. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions you may have regarding the administration of the tax. So, if you’re a business that manufactures or imports plastic packaging please sign-up now for the following:

Introduction to Plastic Packaging Tax: This webinar will cover how the tax will operate including:

• what plastic packaging the tax applies to

• who is responsible for paying and accounting for the tax

• what information is needed for your tax returns and record keeping.

Register here

Plastic Packaging Tax – admin and technical aspects: This webinar will cover the technical points about recycled plastic and exemptions from the tax including:

• how to claim tax credits

• allowable sources of recycled plastic

• methods for calculating or evidencing recycled plastic content and weight of packaging components

• supply chain responsibilities.

Register here

Overview of PPT

The tax aims to encourage the use of recycled plastic instead of new plastic within plastic packaging. It will be charged at a rate of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in or imported into the UK, including packaging that already contains goods when it is imported, such as bottles filled with drinks.

If all the plastic packaging that you manufacture or import contains at least 30% recycled plastic, you will not need to pay the tax, but you may still need to register.

Further information

In the mean-time, you can read HMRC’s recently published guidance, which gives you updated information to help you prepare for PPT, before it comes into force on 1‌‌‌ ‌April‌‌‌ ‌2022.

New information in the guidance includes:

• examples to aid understanding of what packaging is taxable or not

• new guidance on weighing plastic packaging components

• examples of applying the 10 tonnes registration threshold, direct exports, claiming tax credits and calculating whether multi-material packaging components are plastic

• information on the records and accounts that businesses will be required to keep to support information submitted on returns

• examples of due diligence checks you can carry out if you manufacture, import or purchase plastic packaging from another business.

To ease navigation, we have published a collection page that lists the PPT guidance pages available on GOV‌‌‌.UK, webinars, and also provides links to past consultations.

We have also refreshed our step-by-step guides to help businesses to determine:

• whether the packaging they manufacture or import is within scope of the tax

• whether they are liable to register and account for the tax on the packaging they manufacture and/or import.

The updates further clarify what types of plastic packaging are in scope, and signpost to examples on GOV‌‌‌.UK. Please find the refreshed guides on LinkedIn at ‘Check if your plastic packaging is in scope’ and ‘Check if you need to register and are liable’.

Stay up to date on Plastic Packaging Tax

If you would like to receive further updates about PPT, such as when additional guidance will be published, you can join the PPT mailing list by emailing indirecttaxdesign.team@hmrc.gov.uk with ‘Mailing list’ in the subject header.